First Green Bank in Mount Dora enlists a new Green ally next door — Mellow Mushroom Pizza restaurant announces development

MOUNT DORA, Fla. --- First Green Bank, which hosted more than 750 visitors at its official “Grand Green Opening” of its new award-winning headquarters facility in Mount Dora recently, has recruited its first “green” ally — a Mellow Mushroom Pizza Restaurant, which plans to open next door to the bank on U.S. 441

Kenneth LaRoe, chairman and chief executive officer at First Green Bank, said he and his brother Michael plan to start construction of Lake County’s first Mellow Mushroom Pizza restaurant as early as this summer.

LaRoe, a partner in the franchise, said plans call for a new one-story 5,000 square foot building that will meet the U.S. Green Building Council’s LEED Silver standards for energy efficiency and environmental quality. The restaurant will feature a 1,100 square foot deck in the rear of the building.

First Green Bank has submitted for a designated a LEED Platinum facility — only the second privately constructed building in Florida to achieve that standard.

If all goes according to plan, First Green Bank’s new “Green” neighbor could be open within 12 months.