As Alcohol Sales Decline, Non-Alcoholic Drink Menus Are Thriving at Restaurants

Yahoo

24-03-2025

In 2023, the Four Seasons Hotel Philadelphia started stocking drinks like zero-proof Athletic Beer and Lyre's non-alcoholic spirits for guests who requested them. But it wasn't until midway through the following year when beverage director Dawn Trabing made the decision to print a menu with the new options. Within five months of adding a non-alcoholic section to the hotel's restaurant menus in 2024, sales doubled from the entire previous year.
'It was incredible,' she says. 'I was surprised by how much it boomed.'
At this rate, Trabing predicts sales of non-alcoholic drinks, which include cocktails like the house-made black currant and tonic, will outperform beer sales in 2025.
Related: Would You Prefer Your January Dry, Damp, or Wet? We Have Thoughts.
It's a trend echoing across the U.S. In 2024, alcohol sales slumped significantly — global beverage giant Diageo reported its first decline since the pandemic, and on-premises alcohol sales at restaurants have dipped. In the restaurant industry, profits often depend on alcohol sales, while food might barely break even (especially during recent years of surging inflation).
Slumping alcohol sales can be a challenge for restaurant operators — but also an opportunity. Some are zeroing in on zero-proof options, creating non-alcoholic menus that are more interesting — and in some cases, revenue-generating — than ever before.
Americans are drinking less for a number of reasons. Health concerns top the list, highlighted by the Surgeon General's warning about increased cancer risks published in January. The popularity of GLP-1 drugs like Ozempic, which can curb the craving to drink, can also influence drinking behavior.
There's a cultural shift, too, led by the younger generation, says chef Brian Malarkey of San Diego's Puffer Malarkey Collective, whose restaurants' cocktail menus each have a dedicated spirit-free section featuring ingredients like tamarind syrup and Thai chili.'They're all about balance — prioritizing their physical and mental well-being, and they've got more health and wellness info at their fingertips than ever before.'
Economic factors play a role, too. With inflation squeezing both consumers and restaurants, cocktail prices have climbed to upwards of $22 or more in some markets. It's a price that might give pause to ordering a second drink. Meanwhile, looming tariffs threaten to further hobble wine and spirits sales.
'The hit is real,' says Alejandro Medina, beverage director of Bludorn Hospitality Group in Houston. 'Food costs versus profits have always been a slim margin, and alcohol has been the way in which restaurants have returned more profit. The bottom line is we do see the effects of less alcohol consumption in every area of our businesses.'
Related: The Best Nonalcoholic Drinks, According to Bartenders and Our Editors
This shifting landscape has sparked a wave of innovation in bars and restaurant beverage programs around the country. On the fine dining front, some are offering non-alcoholic beverage pairings with tasting menus. At Seline in Los Angeles, chef/owner and 2014 F&W Best New Chef Dave Beran and beverage director Matthew Brodbine created a non-alcoholic program that rivals their wine pairing.
'The prompt to create this menu was to have a stellar non-alcoholic pairing that no one in the city or state could replicate,' says Brodbine. 'We don't use NA or zero proof pre-batched mocktails or wine.'
Instead, the team crafts house-made concoctions using teas, juices, kombucha, and even kitchen scraps. For one pairing, they transform cucumber and apple trimmings into a syrup that's blended with jasmine tea and then carbonated. 'Simple, clean, and delicious repurposing of ingredients that would have been thrown out — and cost effective,' Brodbine says.
Related: 16 Nonalcoholic Cocktails for Your Next Holiday Party
The approach resonates with guests. While wine pairings remain more popular overall, Brodbine says several times a week an entire table will choose the non-alcoholic pairing. 'It definitely helps… because we capture sales that may not have happened,' he says. Guests frequently comment that these thoughtful beverages feel like 'another menu in addition to their meal.'
For Arjav Ezekiel, who runs Birdie's in Austin with his wife, chef Tracy Malechek, the inspiration to diversify their menu came when a non-drinking chef visited the restaurant. 'It became very clear to me that guests at Birdie's who don't drink are not really having a Birdie's experience,' says Ezekiel.
Though, as a sommelier, he's focused on his some 350-bottle wine list, he's now also equally passionate about the restaurant's 25 non-alcoholic options that range from Non, a sparkler made with Tasmanian raspberries and chamomile, to a Danish unfiltered koji rice wine. 'I just kind of went deeper and deeper into it, and fell in love with the category,' he says.
Related: 5 Non-Alcoholic Aperitifs For When You Need a Break from Booze
At the W Philadelphia, beverage manager Isai Xolalpa also puts extra effort into the non-alcoholic program at the hotel's bars as a way to, 'offer a more inclusive social experience without compromising on creativity or flavor,' he says. Every cocktail on the menu has an NA counterpart, including some anchored by house-made zero-proof spirits. He crafts non-alcoholic rum using star anise, cinnamon, and other aromatic spices, and plans to debut a zero-proof bourbon this summer.
Similarly to Birdie's, the NA offerings at the W 'don't necessarily represent a less costly option to serve,' Xolalpa notes. 'Our NA cocktails are crafted with the same level of complexity and quality ingredients as our alcoholic offerings.'
But for many restaurants, the addition of an NA menu is a boon to both the guest experience and the bottom line. At Junoon in New York, for example, beverage director Hemant Pathak says non-alcoholic beverages account for 30-35% of the restaurant's total beverage sales on any given day.
'In India, NA beverages have been popular for ages as alcohol has never been a part of our social and cultural life,' he says. 'Since we see more and more guests who don't drink at all, having a well-crafted zero-proof menu is financially beneficial for the restaurant.'
Jhonel Faelnar, beverage director at NARO, Atoboy, and Atomix, agrees. 'From a financial perspective, having an excellent NA program can only be positive,' he says. 'When a segment of the market is not left without options, they often respond with the same buying power as those who want a bottle of wine or cocktails.'
Most importantly, though, these thoughtful spirit-free menus boost the overall hospitality experience. 'People who come in now and eat dinner and explore the list because they feel seen and they feel taken care of,' says Ezekiel. 'That's the measure of a good restaurant.'
Read the original article on Food & Wine