00:00In New York City, sober bars are on the rise, offering a new option for those who opt out of
00:07drinking. Hecate was the first of its kind, opening in early 2022 as the city's first fully
00:13alcohol-free bar. Its intimate witchy vibe has since made it a favorite alternative to
00:19traditional nightlife in the East Village in Manhattan. I typically just don't enjoy alcohol,
00:24so I'm going to an art opening where it's probably going to be a lot of like wine served and this was
00:30a nice way to relax right before it. I do go to regular bars, but I kind of like this because I
00:37just, some days I just don't feel like drinking. For someone like me who can't drink alcohol at all
00:42for health reasons, places like this are very important because they create a community but
00:48also create spaces for people like me that want to enjoy something delicious. They don't have to like
00:53commit or hurt their health by drinking alcohol. Today, a handful of sober bars have emerged at a
00:59time when U.S. alcohol use is at its lowest levels in nearly 90 years, according to a Gallup poll.
01:06At the same time, non-alcoholic drinks are booming in the U.S. with volumes of nearly 30 percent in 2023,
01:13well ahead of low alcohol consumption. And non-alcoholic beer is leading the way,
01:18making up over 80 percent of servings. On top of that, younger generations like millennials and
01:24NC are drinking less, often to save money and also stay healthier. But can sober nightlife
01:30actually be a sustainable market? Abby is the owner of Hecate. She also runs a traditional bar
01:36across the street. After growing concerned about how often people were coming in just to drink,
01:41she opened Hecate as a different kind of social space. By day, it's a cafe to supplement the money
01:47the bar make some cocktails at night. Yeah, it isn't a giant moneymaker. It's more a labor of
01:52love. We're fortunate to have fairly an expensive lunch, so that helps. We just charge what we think
01:59the market will bear and hope that people come in and pay the prices and that we are able to pay
02:04our bills at the end of the month. But, you know, there's a lot of interest in it. You know,
02:10when you Google sober bars, we're the first one that comes up because we've been doing it the
02:14longest. For the city's former nightlife mayor, profitability comes down to the entrepreneur's
02:20own creativity. From what I understand, it's certainly a challenge. A lot of creative thinking
02:28needs to take place, whether it be door charges or ticket sales or higher priced non-alcoholic
02:41beverages that can match that. But even if a mocktail comes at a high price, people at this bar are
02:49willing to pay for a well-curated experience.
