We’re a little past halfway through Dry January – and many Philadelphians are still going strong in their resolve to embrace (short-lived) sobriety. But, perhaps you’ve taken the Surgeon General’s recent guidance that alcohol carries a cancer risk to heart or are evaluating your health habits, and maybe you’re looking for something more long-term.
If so, you’re not alone. A recent survey found that nearly 1 in 2 American adults (49%) were planning to drink less in 2025. That number was 34% in 2023. The trend is led by younger adults: Gen Z (65%) and Millennials (57%).
Whether you’re sober curious, looking to take a break for a weekend, fully cutting out booze or just supportive of your sober friends – here are some dry wellness events and activities that go beyond Dry January.
Nonalcoholic bars and shops
Beyond mocktails at a normal bar or a section in a liquor store, many spaces in Philly offer a fully alcohol-free space.
Nutmeg Nonalcoholic Bar and Natural Market in East Passyunk offers food and various nonalcoholic drinks. Owner Brian Rothbart explained he focuses on three different kinds of drinks at Nutmeg.
“I have ones that are pretending to be alcohol,” he said. “I have an old fashioned, I have a margarita, for example. Those are things that are emulating something you would see at a normal bar.”
Rothbart said he also offers drinks that are “alcohol adjacent” – like a “spritz” menu – and then a section of “grown-up sodas,” which includes drinks made with things like ginger beer, bitters and elixirs.
Rothbart said he started the bar to promote a social atmosphere free of intoxicants.
“Most of my guests, I would say 75 to 80 percent, are just people who don’t feel like drinking right now,” he said. “Whatever ‘now’ is, for however long ‘now’ is, we try to be an outlet so that socialization is not dependent on alcohol.”
Rothbart is also passionate about supporting the arts and giving local artists a platform and place to celebrate without alcohol.
“There are a lot of people who have different relationships with alcohol,” he said. “And we believe that people should be able to enjoy art, share their art, and embrace that kind of community without alcohol necessarily being present.”
He said the bar also hosts other events, including open mic nights, paint and sip nights, stand-up comedy and art open houses.
In addition to the event space, Rothbart said Nutmeg has a shop that sells various food from local producers and nonalcoholic beverages.
Several other bars and shops offer a similar atmosphere to Nutmeg.
Unity Java offers a zero-proof alcohol shop above its coffee shops. This includes nonalcoholic spirits like gin and tequila, or liquors like nonalcoholic aperitif and bitters.
Pennsylvania Libations at Reading Terminal Market offers various nonalcoholic options. The store specializes in Pennsylvania-made liquors and spirits. While the store offers alcoholic options, there is an extensive selection of mocktails as well.
Slightly beyond Philadelphia’s urban area, Wallace Dry Goods, in Ardmore, also embraces year-round sobriety through various workshops, nonalcoholic happy hours and celebrations.
Robin Cummiskey is the owner of Wallace Dry Goods. She said the shop focuses on leaving judgment out of the equation.
“The ethos that we really live by here is ‘cheers to choices,’ ” she said. “Because for us, it’s not about whether or not you drink alcohol. It’s just about, ‘Do you have the tools you need to make the drink that’s right for you?’ ”
Cummiskey said she created her shop after seeing a lack of “upscale” or unique nonalcoholic drink options. She said it is important for those who are sober, or just not drinking at the moment, to have affordable and desirable options to drink.
Cummiskey said many options are also early in development.
“Most of the brands that I carry – all of them, I think – are less than five or six years old, with the majority of them coming out in the last two years,” she said. “So, as there’s more attention and more money going into these categories, the development is going to continue to expand.”
She said Wallace Dry Goods also offers events like ticketed tastings and mixology workshops. Cummiskey said the store strives to not only be a place to buy nonalcoholic beverages, but also for other like-minded people to network and socialize.
“Whether it’s Dry January or deciding to take a break on your own from alcohol, it doesn’t have to mean that you’re hiding in your house anymore,” she said. “Like, you can still go out, you can still socialize.”
Cummiskey added she realizes her shop is not as accessible as other areas of the city. She mentioned she delivers to Bar Palmina in Fishtown every Tuesday. Those interested in ordering from Wallace Dry Goods can make their deliveries through a QR code on Bar Palmina’s menu.
In addition to these deliveries, Bar Palmina serves as a nonalcoholic drink hub. The bar offers more than just juices and sodas – adding in alcohol-free spirits, beer and wine to various cocktails and drink offerings.
Nonalcoholic speed dating
Those looking for love may be able to find it at an East Passyunk bar – minus the booze. Sober speed dating, like this Philadelphia Non-Alcoholic Speed Dating event at Nutmeg in February, is one of several nonalcoholic events where participants may be able to network and meet a match.
Nonalcoholic drinks and happy hours
Maybe you’re just looking to take a night off from drinking, or maybe going out depends on the sampling of nonalcoholic (NA) options at the bars. Either way, several Philly-area restaurants and bars are offering drinks and happy hours beyond Dry January.
Evil Genius Beer Company in Fishtown and Yards Brewing in Northern Liberties are offering a monthly rotating collection of nonalcoholic selections. Restaurants like Mamajuana Cafe Philly in Fishtown plan to add nonalcoholic selections to their menu for the first time – and continue offering them throughout the year.
Other bars, including Bar Jawn in Manayunk and PJ Clarke’s in Center City, have discounts for Dry January and happy hours, but have an ongoing, year-round selection of nonalcoholic drinks.
Social meetups
The Phoenix, a sober-supporting national nonprofit, offers various opportunities via weekly social groups for sober and sober-seeking participants. In the region, the organization hosts events like trivia nights at local nonalcoholic bars and various workout classes, like bouldering and CrossFit.
Gavin Young is the Associate Director of External Relations for the Phoenix. Young became involved in the program after getting sober in 2008. He said fitness and moving his body helped in his recovery. He said he often sees this to be helpful for others in the program.
“For our fitness and CrossFit programs, there are people that never consider themselves an athlete, did not consider themselves someone that likes working out,” he said. “And then this ends up becoming, actually, like a very material part of not just what their day-to-day life looks like, but also kind of like how they identify.”
He said the group started out with a fitness base, but evolved into more than that.
“We also recognize that not everybody wants to go to a gym and work out,” Young said. “A lot of people we found do, but we also wanted to make sure that people felt that they could find any type of programming that was available. So we started doing a lot of yoga, a lot of meditation, bicycle rides, hiking, things like that.”
He said this eventually expanded into more social activities – including live music, trivia and community gardening. The group also offers things like financial literacy courses.
Young said he encourages anyone who is taking a break from drinking, sober curious or fully sober to check out The Phoenix: A sober community app – available on the IOS and Android stores — as it offers a “marketplace” of sober resources.
“So we’ve kind of made this app to be like the Amazon Marketplace of free resources for people to come and participate in,” he said. “So whether or not people want to attend a Phoenix program, whether that’s online or virtual, if they want to just log on to the app and just see what’s available in their neighborhood, what’s happening in their area, or what they want to do at a home virtually, we use our app as kind of the main way to make that available for folks.”
The app and events are all free. Events are updated each week on their website.
Activities without alcohol
Many venues, restaurants and cafes offer unique experiences around the city not centered around alcohol. While some of these selections still offer alcoholic drinks, they ultimately center around activities not involving alcohol
Queen & Rook is a popular board game cafe that offers various traditional and indie board games, events and socialization opportunities.
Immerse yourself in the arts and various yoga and meditation practices at the Penn Museum’s Mind and Mood Recharge. On the first Wednesday of every month, from 5 to 8 p.m., the museum hosts a rotation of wellness activities. A great alternative to an alcohol-filled happy hour, the event champions things like sound bath and healing, mocktails and art activities.
Perfect your golf swing, or find your next social spot for a group hang at Five Iron Golf. The indoor attraction offers simulators to rent and individual golf lessons.
For art enthusiasts, Otherworld is a mixture of immersive art, play and sci-fi in Center City. The experience can serve as a sober date night destination, or somewhere to peruse on your own.
The Franklin Institute’s “Science After Hours” offers a quarterly, after-dark experience for adults. It is full of live performances and challenges in line with various different themes.
