- Title: Hold the gin please; sober nightlife takes off in New York
- Date: 9th October 2019
- Summary: NEW YORK, NEW YORK, UNITED STATES (RECENT) (REUTERS) VARIOUS OF BARTENDER AT THE GETAWAY BAR MAKING AND SERVING APPLES & ORANGES DRINK AT GETAWAY BAR BAR (SOUNDBITE) (English) ADVERTISING INDUSTRY WORKER, SARA, SAYING: "I like Getaway because I am trying to cut down on my drinking. I'm sober curious. I'm a new mom, so I'm, that there's a spot that I can go, it's kind of close to work, not too far away and I could just like relax before I go home to the chaos. And I don't have get drunk or spend a lot of money." GETAWAY BAR MENU SARA WITH DRINK (SOUNDBITE) (English) MANHATTAN DESIGN STUDIO OWNER, MERYL VEDROS, SAYING: "Yeah, this is, the, 'Trip to Ikea.' I've actually not tried it yet. [DRINKS] It's delicious. I swapped the cream actually for coconut milk. It has elderberry in it. It tastes kind of tart. It's pretty frothy. [DRINK] I'm into it. [REPORTER SAYS: "Looks like a cocktail to me."] Yeah. Definitely." MENU COMING INTO FOCUS (SOUNDBITE) (English) MANHATTAN DESIGN STUDIO OWNER, MERYL VEDROS, SAYING: "I think people are tiring from the social crutch of alcohol and interested more in natural spaces where they can be themselves and ease more into a wellness-focused world. (VEDROS GETTING DRINK) I don't know. Thank you I personally find that eating clean makes me feel better. I'm consistent and with alcohol, it's one of those things that always leads me back into a very up and down world. And my curiosity really came from cutting out sugar and wanting to find a more steady rhythm in my life and I would assume a lot of people are looking for that." '0%' COASTER / VEDROS VEDROS DRINKING AT BAR 'AUTUMN IN NEW YORK' DRINK BARTENDERS SERVING 'AUTUMN IN NEW YORK' AND 'GINGER SPICE' DRINKS DRINKS ON BAR (SOUNDBITE) (English) GETAWAY BAR CO-OWNER, SAM THONIS, SAYING: "[REPORTER ASKING OFF CAMERA: 'What are your favorites and what do we got here?'] Yeah so this is our newest drink here. That's the, 'Autumn in New York.' I really like that one that has kind of that vinegar apple flavor. We thought it would be a good cocktail. This is the 'Ginger Spice,' which is our most popular mixed drink. That one has blackberries, tonic, ginger syrup and grapefruit juice. So that one is just this really well-rounded kind of sweet and a little bit sour crowd pleaser." (SOUNDBITE) (English) GETAWAY BAR CO-OWNER, SAM THONIS, SAYING: "So on a basic level, our business model is actually not that different from a cocktail bar, from a craft cocktail bar. You know, we are selling high-quality premium drinks using really great fresh ingredients that we're preparing daily. So we are able to charge a price point that gives us a profit margin that is really comparable to what an alcohol bar would charge for a cocktail. I think one big difference is that we're not necessarily selling drink after drink after drink after drink to the same customer. A bar might because alcohol does have that kind of a snowball effect for better or worse." BAR VARIOUS OF GETAWAY BAR ATTENDEE, ELIZABETH, AT BAR (SOUNDBITE) (English) VARIOUS OF GETAWAY BAR PATRON, ELIZABETH, SAYING: "So I am really into fitness, like just to be really healthy. So I really like that this is a welcoming environment where I can watch my calories and stay healthy." BAR
- Embargoed: 23rd October 2019 14:45
- Keywords: Getaway Bar sober bar dry Greenpoint Listen Bar Loosid
- Location: NEW YORK, NEW YORK, UNITED STATES
- City: NEW YORK, NEW YORK, UNITED STATES
- Country: USA
- Topics: Living / Lifestyle,Society/Social Issues
- Reuters ID: LVA001B0DJQ6X
- Aspect Ratio: 16:9
- Story Text: Like many young urbanites, Meryl Vedros likes to cap her demanding workday with a cocktail. So the New York-based creative director likes to head to the craft Getaway Bar in the trendy Brooklyn neighborhood of Greenpoint.
On a recent visit with Reuters present, she decided to try a new drink on the menu - the "Trip to Ikea."
Vedros pronounced the concoction of lingonberry, lemon, vanilla, cardamom and cream "delicious".
The drink has no alcohol; Getaway is a "dry bar", seeking to cater to the growing sober movement that includes sober bars as well new apps like Loosid that bring together users for dating and other activities where drinking is not included.
"I think people are tiring from the social crutch of alcohol and interested more in natural spaces where they can be themselves and ease more into a wellness-focused world," Vedros told Reuters.
The numbers bear out her hunch. Binge drinking (five or more drinks in a row over a two-week span) continues to decline among both college and non-college adults, dipping below 30%, according to the National Institute on Drug Abuse's "Monitoring the Future Study" released in September.
Total alcohol consumption in the United States has declined for three consecutive years, largely as a result of continued weakening beer volume, according to the annual studies conducted by the IWSR drinks market analysis firm.
Bars like Getaway resemble typical bars beyond just their aesthetics. According to the bar's co-owner, the business model is similar as well.
"Our business model is actually not that different from a cocktail bar, from a craft cocktail bar," said Getaway co-owner Sam Thonis.
"You know, we are selling high-quality premium drinks using really great fresh ingredients that we're preparing daily. So we are able to charge a price point that gives us a profit margin that is really comparable to what a alcohol bar would charge for a cocktail."
Drinks at the bar run around $13 USD (11.87 euro).
In New York, Getaway is not alone. The Listen Bar, for example, organizes a monthly sober party that regularly sells out.
Entrepreneur MJ Gottlieb saw a need in the sober community for a forum beyond a dry watering hole. So he created the "Loosid" app, a "sober platform" for dating and other meet up opportunities.
"I have had countless friends that have apps, the other apps and then they've unfortunately relapsed for those who are in recovery because of that that social pressure and so they needed that social lubricant so being able to date in a really safe container is very, very important."
Loosid has no competitors thus far, Gottlieb said.
The sober space, however, is receiving boosts from even beer giants like Heineken; earlier this year, Heineken 0.0 - an alcohol-free malt beverage - was rolled out as a low calorie zero-alcohol option for those who love everything about beer, save the booze.
Thonis of the Getaway Bar does concede alcohol bars do have one business advantage.
"I think one big difference is that we're not necessarily selling drink after drink after drink after drink to the same customer. A bar might because alcohol does have that kind of a snowball effect for better or worse."
(Production by: Dan Fastenberg, Hussein al Waaile) - Copyright Holder: REUTERS
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