CHAPEL HILL N.C.—Drinking alcoholic beverages might not be everyone’s cup or tea—or cup of spirits—more precisely. Now more than ever those who are are sober or sober curious can find drink options in the Triangle as alcohol free bars and menus become increasingly popular.
Alcohol-free drinks have taken the country by storm, even showing up in a Super Bowl commercial for Heneiken featuring Hollywood actor Paul Rudd. The Triangle is no exception.
Umbrella Dry Bar, Raleigh’s first alcohol-free bar, is set to open in the next few months. Meg Paradise, the bar’s founder, said she’s been to places where her only options were soda water or regular alcohol. That’s why she wanted to mix up the bar scene.
“It felt like there weren’t many options,” she said. “So I thought I want to create a space where you don’t have to make all those decisions, you don’t have to feel that internal conflict.”
In Durham, Zoey Best is the founder of Da Kine’s Kava. This alcohol-free bars serves drinks containing kava, a South Pacific plant known for its relaxing effect.
Best said she’s beginning to see more young people stop by her bar, often looking for the social aspect of bars serving alcohol, without the hangover.
“The way that our society has been built is a lot of times that social interaction and that community is built around alcohol,” Best said. “And a lot of people feel obligated to stay and continue to drink alcohol because they want to be a part of that social interaction, the experience, the community.”
The next time you’re looking to raise your spirits without the spirits, there might be a drink for you in the Triangle.