As a quick follow-up to our recent post, we had a great time at Lunch 2.0 today!  Here are some photos to prove all the fun….

Thanks to everyone who attended, the great panelists, and for the support of the sponsors (Thank you in particfular to Redapt.com for supporting the purchase of the lunch!).  We had a great time and loved bringing this group’s vibe into the office!

If you’ve ever heard of coworking before, you know that the folks who lead up coworking spaces all around the world are a bunch of folks who like to re-think the way we use space.

Well, fresh from the coworking Google Group is a new string of conversation about the creative reuse of closed pubs throughout the UK. Apparently, pubs in the UK are closing at a rate of nearly 6 per week, begging the question – what happens with these spaces once they are vacated?

Similar conversations are happening all over the world when it comes to commercial real estate – whether it’s pubs, restaurants, or other small businesses, the unfortunate truth is that many small businesses are unable to keep their doors open.  Obviously, saving them from closing down in the first place would be ideal, but in the end we will still lose some businesses during this tough economic environment. So what do we do with these empty spaces?

Coworking could be one answer (I know, I’m biased on this one).  What if these spaces could be rented out relatively cheaply (to keep at least some minimal income coming in for buildling owners) for workers to fill in?  Sharing costs of an office is one of the biggest perks to a coworking space for independents – these spaces could allow for that to happen in a wider variety of places than just traditional office spaces.  They could also allow for more neighborhood-based work options for individuals who are able to telecommute instead of commuting traditionally all over the place.

Beyond coworking, crowdsourcing these great spaces could provide a way for a group of independents to salvage and save these spaces from becoming bland fill-in businesses (do we really need another cash advance/payday loan store on our corners?), and enable them to be reflections of the people who live in the neighborhood.  Imagine co-owned woodworking shops, art spaces, community kitchens…the options are endless.

What would you do with a beautiful empty space like those photographed on the “Last Orders” photo set on Flickr?

Thanks to Flickr user camies for the use of this photo under the Creative Commons license.

Office Nomads is very excited to announce that we’ll be hosting a Lunch 2.0 event next week!

What is Lunch 2.0? It’s a monthly lunch and short panel conversation aimed at Seattle-area entrepreneurs, independent workers and tech folks who want to together for a FREE LUNCH and learn about how other people tackle problems, start businesses and the like.

This month the event will have a less technical topic. We’ll talk some about what coworking is and why it’s better than working in a coffee shop and some about the ins and outs of starting and running your own business.

Our panel will feature four Nomads:
Ryan Salva – Prinicipal, Capitol Media
Ron Theis – Principal, Ridiculous Software
Susan Evans – co-founder, Office Nomads
Gabriel Scheer – co-founder, Re-Vision Labs

Lunch is being served by Seattle’s latest and greatest lunch delivery service Molly’s Salads which strives to bring you the best tasting, organic, local and otherwise really good sandwiches and salads you can imagine. All for unbelievably great prices. You won’t want to miss it.

So please come to Lunch 2.0 at Office Nomads on Friday June 26 from 11:30 AM to 1 PM. We’re at 1617 Boylston Ave. on the second floor. To RSVP (space is limited), please visit http://upcoming.yahoo.com/event/2912016/?ps=5sl.

This is the advertisement we put in The Stranger

We also have a facebook event. We are very excited that Tara is coming up to talk about her new book. This is going to be a great night.