Finding Community: The Key Difference Between Addiction and Sobriety

The difference between addiction + sobriety is being alone versus really being within community.

As a consultant in this NA / AF space (non-alcoholic and alcohol-free), I find there are two main camps of people: those who are not sober but want to pace themselves, and those who are sober and are expanding their awareness in the wellness arena.

There's a lot of tension here...

The non-sober people want "non-alcoholic cocktails" and want it to just taste like an alcoholic cocktail,

The sober people aren't interested in that at all... They want new drinks that provide an extra layer of care and compassion.

They want functional bevs that provide them with actual benefits. They don't want it to taste like alcohol. That's why they call them mocktails, they're not wanting "non-alcoholic cocktails"!

I bring this distinction up because the NA / AF space is exploding with new bev and bar options - some great, some terrible, depending on which camp you fall into.

Different communities require different solutions.

If you're in the non-sober camp, you're blending into the traditional bar space, signifying no differentiation in community mingling with your non-alcoholic cocktails. This means very little updates need to be made to a traditional bar in order to accommodate these NA / AF menus.

If you're in the sober camp, you need to pair your mocktail with an experience in order to have an effect. This means atmosphere is everythinggggggg! You simply can't just assume a regular bar model will work here...

These are entirely different business models.

Want to overlap both in the same establishment?

It's very possible!

Hybrid establishments in this context are incredibly rare, and are still actively experimenting in how to accomplish this without causing pain for either camp.

My husband and I are here to help you navigate this 😎

We've worked for all types of bars - alcoholic and non - and personally, we fall into the sober camp. From both personal and professional experiences with recovery, we've found that it's all in the details.

We are focused on helping businesses and event planners bridge this gap 💪

DM for help in your bar or event service business ✨