Business people who don’t have time to breathe can catch up at the new Detroit Breathing Room. The 1400 square foot downtown space – formerly a craft glazed sauce eatery – opened last week and there’s already a seven-month waiting list.
“Not breathing can be detrimental to achieving career goals,” says the room’s founder, Carla Simmons. “Unfortunately the pace is often so hectic that many people just don’t have the time.”
The room is painted white, and there are 50 brown folding chairs. There are no TVs or reading material, not even pictures on the wall. Food and drinks are not allowed. Ten different wall signs read “Breathing Only”
“You want to eat, go grab a pomegranate,” says Simmons. “You’re here for one reason: To get a couple hundred breaths ahead, then get back to work and focus on timelines and visioning statements.”
She says she’s already caught 11 people doing something other than breathing, including a CFO reviewing budget forecasts on his smart phone. “When we catch someone cheating they’re automatically banned for a year,” says Simmons.
The current breathing rate – just $45 per minute – was set low to promote the room, Simmons says. She plans to increase it in September to at $70.
“It’s money well spent,” she says. “A person needs to breathe.”
