10 Most Interesting and Innovative Small Businesses in the U.S
Everyone has heard of Apple, Tesla, Amazon or any other big companies that do some interesting and innovative things today. People can now play video games while driving Tesla cars, Apple is getting more and more creative with their products, and we forgot how to exist without Amazon. All of it is fascinating, but what about small businesses? Do small businesses create anything that is worth being on the front page news? The answer is yes, yes, and yes!
Not only small businesses can be as creative as big companies but they can definitely become a competition to other big businesses. It is time we recognize the most interesting and innovative around the U.S. We collected 10 small businesses that have been recognized by Insider for being the coolest small businesses in the United States that are shaking up different industries around the country.
1. Blue Starlite Mini Urban Drive-In. Miami, FL
Located: 70 NW 29th Street, Miami, Fla.
Blue Starlite Mini Urban Drive-In is a small drive-in movie theatre located in the middle of Miami. Only 18 car slots are available each movie showing. The drive-in movie theatre has been admitted to be one of the coolest outdoor movie theaters in the world. They even converted an old 1950s Ford pick-up truck into the movie projector.
“The Blue Starlite is the world’s one and only MINI URBAN BOUTIQUE Drive-In Movie theater - 11 years running! A BOUTIQUE DRIVE-IN MOVIE THEATER FOR THE NEXT GENERATION OF OUTDOOR MOVIE LOVERS!”
The movie theatre owners call themselves “the drive-in movie theatre for the modern age” which we have to agree with. The concept is indeed unique and very interesting. The lack of space makes it even more original and intimate.
According to their website, they concentrate on showing childhood favorites, drive-in classics, indie films, art house, Cult, and Gen X/Y pop culture favorites.
2. Carousel Bar. New Orleans, LA
Located: 214 Royal Street, New Orleans, LA.
Located in the hotel Monteleone, New Orleans the bar became quite a tourist attraction of the city. The bar was built on an actual working merry-go-around. People usually gather around and for decades the bar takes guests for a spin on the 25-seat bright circus-cla merry-go-around.
Vogue Living named this carousel bar one of the top 20 bars in the world! A big achievement for a small business!
“No visit to New Orleans would be complete without a ride on the Carousel Bar.”
Additionally, the bar offers an extensive menu of cocktails and drinks with the specific excellence in martini.
3. Crock Spot. Denver, CO
Located: Park Hill. 2878 N Fairfax St., Denver, CO
“Serving the Denver Metro Area Slow Cooked Goodness Since 2010”
Crock Spot offers customizable dishes that are slow cooked. The concept started when the owners Steven and Mandy offered a gourmet, fast casual concept at the marketplace in 2010 under a 10 by 10 tent.
You can pick slow-cooked meat or lentils and start adding couscous, pearl barley, and a variety of veggies and sauces.The Crock Spot has been Denver’s favorite for over 10 years and received awards of Best Food Truck in Denver by 5280 Magazine and Best Meals on Wheels by Westword Magazine. So, next time you are in Denver, don’t forget to check it out!
4. Echo Park Travel Mart. Los Angeles, CA
“Whenever you are, we’re already then. The Time Travel Mart was established in an unknown year and dimension (the exact details have been heroically lost to a black hole). Temporally speaking, we opened our doors in Echo Park in 2008, and Mar Vista in 2012. But that doesn’t really matter because we pride ourselves on being the only Los Angeles purveyor of quality goods from the past, present, and future. It’s painted on our storefront, so there.”
Looking for supplies for the past or the future? Then Travel Mart will be perfect for you! They sell everything from barbarian repellent to canned mammoth chunks. Pick whatever you like. The store is a fundraising front for writer Dave Eggers' nonprofit organization 826 National, a non-profit organization supporting Los Angeles students with reactive writing skills.
5. Gatherball. Seattle, WA
Gatherball is an online platform based in Seattle, WA. It is a social vacation-planning website.
Do you ever feel like planning your vacation with friends and family is too stressful? Well, Gatherball might help to ease that stress for you. This website keeps track of what you want to do, where to go or when. You can share that information with your friends and family to plan a trip together.
Additionally, it can keep track of the financial spendings and helps to figure out who owes money to someone at the end of the trip.
6. Labobatory (Boba 7). Los Angeles, CA
Located: 518 West 7th Street, Los Angeles, Calif.,
165 South De Lacey Ave, Ste 1049.,Pasadena, California
Labobatory as you can guess from the name offers boba tea but with alcohol. They call themselves "the world's first speakeasy boba bar." If you are not familiar with boba tea, it is a tea made with little tapioca starch bubbles (bobas).
They make boba tea with alcohol filled bobas with Heineken, Bailey's, tequila, or rum in different combinations. So, if you are brave enough, you can try a taste of a truly innovative drink.
7. LTO - Limited Time Only. New York, NY
Location: 171 E. Broadway, New York, N.Y.
This restaurant allows you to have an opportunity to try out different cuisines and dishes by offering a rotating menu and chefs. LTO has different menus and different chiefs at different days, weeks, or months. S depending what time of the day or a month you visit. They often have some obscure items on the menu and some celebrity chefs. So, if you feel like you don’t know what to eat, go to LTO and it will be decided for you.
8. Pizza Brain. Philadelphia, PA
Located: 2313 Frankford Avenue, Philadelphia, Penn.
Pizza Brain is the first American pizza museum and pizzeria. The pizzeria offers a big variety of pizza made with farm fresh vegetables, made from scratch dough and sauces.
“We take pride in featuring artisanal and traditional pies with updated flavor profiles for today’s health-conscious lifestyle.”
The business was started in 20212 by Brian Dwyer who was very fond of pizza and had a large collection of different pizza paraphernalia. He had such a big collection that he was able to open a museum…The Guinness Book of World Records recognized the pizzeria for having the largest collection of pizza memorabilia.
9. Something Store
Located: Online, based in Huntington, NY
As you can guess from the name, the store sells something. Confused? You heard it right, the store sells something and you don’t know what until you get it.
The concept is simple, you pay $10 and they ship you your order and you will only know what it is when you receive it in the mail. People around the world have been sharing on Reddit what they received so far. It’s been all kinds of stuff: books, pots, a floor piano even. The business has been functioning since 2007 and has been very successful. However, the website doesn’t seem to work at the moment.
10. The Coffee Trike. Boston, MA
Located: Check their website for locations
The Coffee Trike is a full-functioning coffee bar on wheels. The Coffee Trike is located on the tricycle and has been rolling around since winter of 2012, the trike offers a full espresso bar, cold brewed coffee, and hot chocolate.
The trike was originally built and custom-outfitted in Holland and has been a functioning piece of equipment and art at the same time, the owner claims.
As you can see small business owners are incredibly creative and innovative. Not only do they create very unique ideas but they set the bar higher for different industries that have been dominated by big companies for a long time.
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