The holidays can be tough for people looking to curb their alcohol intake.
Erik B knows that first hand. He’s been sober for two years, but that hasn’t stopped him from socializing with his friends during the festive season.
“I ain’t dead, I just can’t drink,” he says.
That’s why he’s thankful for nonalcoholic spaces like Eli Tea Bar in Andersonville, which serves coffee, tea, mocktails and other alcohol-free drinks and is open later into the night than other cafes.
It’s one of several Chicago-area businesses selling exclusively nonalcoholic beverages as a growing number of younger adults choose to drink less, or not at all. In Chicago, the “sober-curious” movement is thriving.
“Sometimes just having sober spaces is great, and that’s super important,” said Erik B. “Especially for people who are sober-curious or don’t necessarily have a history with substance abuse but also don’t want to be around it.”
A Journal of the American Medical Association study in 2020 found that alcohol abstinence is becoming increasingly common among Gen Z, with 28% of college students reporting in 2018 that they did not drink alcohol. That’s compared with 20% of respondents in 2002. And a 2023 Gallup survey found that younger adults who say they drink fell from 72% to 62% in the last two decades.
Many restaurants and bars in the area have introduced nonalcoholic cocktails and beers in recent years as demand has risen.
Hector Diaz opened In Good Spirits in 2023 in West Town with his fiancée, Adriana Gaspar. The alcohol-free bottle shop has seen an increase in business year-over-year, Diaz said, and sales this holiday season have outpaced last year’s.
Diaz said that at first many of his customers were people who had been sober for some time, but more customers are coming in who still drink alcohol but are looking to take a break.
“Whether it’s for a period of time or for a specific purpose, or if they want to take a break while they’re drinking at a social occasion and want to mix it up,” Diaz said. “It’s great because it also removes the stigma of oh you can only drink these beverages if you’re sober completely, which is not always the case.”
Nicholas Hodge, manager of Eli Tea Bar, said he’s noticed an increase in sales in the two and half years he’s worked at the bar. The Queer-sober social events, which were once sparsely attended, are now packed, he said.
“I think that there is an aspect there of people just wanting to meet people, but I think there’s definitely the sober element of it specifically,” Hodge said. “People who are champions of it talk to people who are newly sober who come here and they’re very eager to say you’re accepted here, keep coming back on Sundays.”
Hodge thinks younger people aren’t as drawn to bar culture as older generations, and that’s why there’s more of a demand for alcohol-free spaces and drinks. Other cafes in the area, such as The Understudy and Loaves and Witches, have also started doing sober meet-ups, Hodge said.
On Monday, Syamala Krishnamsetti, who stopped by the tea shop for a drink with her friend, said she’s noticed a growing interest in non-alcoholic beverages among younger people through her work as a board member of the Story Theatre.
“At our events we have alcohol, but people are responding more to non-alcoholic drinks and also CBD drinks,” Krishnamsetti said. “There’s a much higher demand for that now.”
She thinks legalization of marijuana is one factor causing younger generations to be less interested in alcohol.
“It’s also health related as well, they care about their looks,” Krishnamsetti said.
Erik B said he’s glad that there are now other options to get together with friends beyond just a bar or a club.
“Having spaces like this means I don’t have to be locked in my house all day,” he said. “And to be in a space where there is no temptation, no risks, there’s nothing. It’s great.”
There are alcohol free New Years Eve celebrations planned Tuesday, including a bash thrown by Strength in the City and the Chicago Sober Society at Everything Bar.