To drink or not to drink? That is the question fueling the “sober curious” movement that has spread throughout Atlanta and beyond. Socialites are turning to alcohol-free bars for buzz-free fun with their friends.
“There’s many people in my circle that have chosen to not drink and chosen to be selective about what they put in their bodies,” Mike Jones, a partner at incubator and tech studio Science, told CNN. “We’re seeing a consciousness around it more and more.”
According to CNN, drinking less is not a trend among all Americans, but it is growing in popularity among young adults. According to a Gallup Poll last year, nearly a quarter of people who no longer drink said didn’t have a reason to stopl they simply did not want to anymore.
“Alcohol is definitely having, and has had, a cigarette moment since at least 2016,” Chris Marshall, owner of Sans Bar in Austin, Texas, told the news outlet. “We’re coming up on a decade of people really evaluating alcohol’s place in our life. And it’s just no longer accepted that people consume a bunch of alcohol to have a good time.”
Atlanta drinkers looking for a booze-free night of fun have a bevy of watering holes to choose from.
Altered Bar and Bardo, a nonalcoholic drink pop-up combined with an immersive gallery in West End, offers concoctions made with fruits, herbs, florals and fungi. Kirkwood’s Soberish sells everything from CBD and THC adaptogenic drinks to nonalcoholic spirits, wines and beers.
Snuggled in Castleberry Hill, Sober Social specializes in coffee as well as booze-free cocktails. The Zero Co. is North Highland Avenue’s hot spot, and it offers vinegar-based wines (proxies), as well as the usual nonalcoholic fair.
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