A bar without booze

MARY REICHARD, HOST: Today is Tuesday, April 1st.

Thank you for turning to WORLD Radio to help start your day.

Good morning. I’m Mary Reichard.

NICK EICHER, HOST: And I’m Nick Eicher.

Coming next on The World and Everything in It: alternatives to alcohol.

More people are cutting back on alcohol— or giving it up entirely. Different people have different reasons: some are part of a growing emphasis on personal wellness. Others are reacting to public-health warnings—that even moderate drinking may increase risk of health problems, including cancer.

REICHARD: To meet the growing demand, sober bars and bottle shops are opening across the country. But some who forgo alcohol are seeking something different.

Here’s WORLD’s Kristen Flavin.

KRISTEN FLAVIN: There’s a cafe between the Golden Gate Park and Ocean Beach in San Francisco. It looks like a great spot for a mid-afternoon pit stop.

AUDIO: [Coffee sounds]

HINDELANG: To be honest, we were just looking for a place to use the restroom and grab some food.

Brad Hindelang and his wife Rosella are tourists from Austin, Texas. They’re in town with their six- and eight-year old sons.

They quickly learned this spot is anything but typical.

JAMES: My name is Joshua James. I own Ocean Beach Cafe…

WORLD senior writer Mary Jackson reported our story from San Francisco and visited this first-in-the-country cafe.

JAMES: … Now there's probably over 100 of them out there and this all started because I decided to take a year off drinking alcohol in late 2019.

James is a former bartender who realized he had a problem with alcohol in his mid-thirties. After a DUI and being let go from another job, he checked himself into rehab.

JAMES: Alcohol really exaggerates things that you have within you. And it wasn't some kind of exaggeration of things that were within me. It was more like in extreme cases where it was like being possessed. That's the only way I could describe something. It's like when something else is operating. So like being told I said certain, certain things when I was blacked out. I'm like, Okay, this is not cool.

So, James quit drinking alcohol. And he soon discovered he didn’t like most of the non-alcoholic options. But at just the right time, major companies were rolling out new selections. James wasn’t the only one looking for better alternatives.

While wine and beer sales have declined post-pandemic, the market for non-alcoholic drinks has risen 27 percent, nearing $1 billion. Then, in January, the former U.S. surgeon general called for cancer warnings on alcoholic beverages.

With his eclectic menu, James now finds himself at the forefront of the so-called “sober-curious” movement.

AUDIO: [Sound of drinks being made]

JAMES: Gently slide the ice into the spritz, so I can retain as much carbonation for my sparkling wine.

While Brad Hindelang’s wife and sons use the restroom, he eyes the fridge stocked with craft nonalcoholic beer.

James strikes up a conversation.

JAMES: So like, gentlemen like this, come in and they're like, What do you got? I'm like, I got Imperial IPAs. [laughs] What do you usually like to drink?

Brad and his wife have cut back on alcohol. It was making them tired and giving them headaches.

JAMES: You gotta try this. This one's on me. I want you to try a beer. There's no alcohol.

When Rosella and the boys join, she settles on a bottle of nonalcoholic red wine James imports from Austria.

James says interactions like this happen every day. Nonalcoholic drinks make up 40 percent of his sales. And he’s passionate about reaching what he sees as a wide-open market.

One challenge is educating people about the array of options.

AUDIO: [Sounds of scooping ice]

JAMES: It’s going to have this ginger burn, and it’s gonna have lemon, it’s gonna have all these herbs.

The cafe’s non-alcoholic cocktails cost between $16 and $18. And while some customers seek a drink that resembles traditional alcoholic beverages, others are looking for an alternative buzz. James offers some drinks with psychoactive and alternative medicinal ingredients.

That’s where this new market gets a little murky.

JAMES: And we certainly have people that are like, Okay, what do you got? Ooh, you got Kava? I'd love to have a kava drink. Kava is super hot right now. We probably sell more kava beverages than anybody else in the city right now

Kava is a root that comes from the Pacific Islands. It’s marketed as an herbal supplement––and now, a drink. James says it tastes like dirt and numbs your mouth. But it’s said to relax your muscles and relieve anxiety.

JAMES: If you took another shot of it, then it'd be like, Okay, now I'm feeling like, relaxed. I'm having an experience here, and I kind of like it.

Some studies show Kava could cause liver damage and other complications. People taking antidepressants should not consume it.

This cafe sells other drinks containing psychoactive ingredients that could pose health risks for pregnant and breastfeeding women. Those are awkward questions to pepper a new customer with.

Still, James seems unphased.

AUDIO: [Ice, bar sounds]

JAMES: I have a pretty glass with flowers on it, gonna give this a nice, hard shake.

AUDIO: [Ice shaking]

Until recently, James offered “Hemptails,” which are low-dose hemp-derived THC drinks. THC is the psychoactive ingredient in cannabis that makes you high. And while marijuana is legal for adults in California, Gov. Gavin Newsom approved an emergency ban in September on products containing hemp-derived THC. The move highlighted the growing tension between the state’s heavily regulated marijuana industry––and the burgeoning hemp sector.

James argues drinks with a low dosage of THC are less harmful than alcohol. Or the high THC levels found at the dispensary down the street.

JAMES: And this one you can have because there's like, there isn't any, like, buzzy ingredients in here. It's just awesome. You'll see, I gotta garnish this one up too.

But it’s clear the nonalcoholic market is in for some road bumps. And consumers should do their homework.

For WORLD, I’m Kristen Flavin.

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