When NA Offerings are not an Afterthought
When nonalcoholic (NA) offerings are not an afterthought, restaurant and café patrons take notice. Being direct about the specialness of a curated NA menu can take a venue from a zero interest in nonalcoholic beverages to 100% attention on them. Abogados Café, (AbogadosCafe on IG) a local St. Paul Latina-owned café in a residential area, took such action this Dry January. They boldly crafted four cocktails without alcohol to promote. Additionally, they set aside deliberate evening weekend hours for patrons to imbibe in them.
Lawyers by profession, Abogados (translation in Spanish: lawyers) Café owners Ofelia Ponce and Inti Martínez-Alemán have participated in Dry January in years past. They have experienced firsthand the value of putting alcohol back on the shelf and bringing forward the creative fun to an alcohol-free menu. “We have personally done Dry January for a few years now, so we wanted to share our experience with others,“ they noted. “For January 2025, we built on our experience and promoted dedicated hours – 4:00 – 8:00P on Fridays and Saturdays – for people to come in and have a completely NA experience via candlelight.”
Creating an entirely separate experience for nonalcoholic beverage enjoyment, takes Abogados Café from a café where one might order an NA drink during their regular daytime hours of 8:00A – 2:00P, to folks seeking it out as an evening destination where no alcohol is served. This is a significant foray into NA-only environments. Abogados Café has solved for much of the pushback we typically hear from establishments who subtly have nonalcoholic offerings as a lower line item on the menu. Those establishments likely have missed educating their staff on NA products and how to lead with and serve them with enthusiasm, or haven’t paced with the wide array of products and categories that now exist.
By creating evening hours, an alcohol-free environment, curated offerings based on product-maker relationships native to Latin America, and cleverly promoting it as their No Burden of Proof menu, (see their Dry Jan blog and menu) Abogados Café has drawn attention as a NA destination and safe space sans alcohol. In my experience, as a sober person for ten years and in conversation in my sober communities, I can attest that people in long-term sobriety are often subjected to weekend evening gatherings with friends where alcohol is present. It can be extremely challenging to stay sober or be the only or one of a few in an environment like this. It can really create a barrier or a feeling of lack of belonging in many cases.
On a recent night out, I invited Ashley Sunderland (RecoveryGirlMN on IG, and contributor to the national publication The Sober Curator), to join me as we enjoyed all four beverages on Abogados Café’s Dry January No Burden of Proof menu by candlelight. Others in the Café chatted in a lower-key Friday evening vibe, making it easy to have a conversation without straining to hear or be heard. In talking with Ofelia and Inti, we learned that the drivers behind their NA experience included wanting to serve nonalcoholic beverages, highlight their cultural experience, invite in their community, and draw in new community seeking a nonalcoholic night out.
“The café is open until 2:00P weekdays. We’ve been thinking about other ways to activate the space, but didn’t want to purchase a liquor license for several reasons. So we’ve been reimagining how our space could be open more while also providing revenue to make staffing and being open those hours sustainable,” says Ofelia. “Serving nonalcoholic products – and intentionally making them caffeine-free – was one avenue to draw community in and expand our beverage menu from what might normally be expected of a coffee-forward café.”
As co-founder of Zero Proof Collective, a Twin Cities-based advocacy group established to create momentum and education around the NA Movement, I believe Abogados Café is exemplary in their reimagining of their space to feature an NA experience. We applaud that! I appreciate that the quality and innovation of NA beverages they’re serving make their space a destination — where else can you get a Tepache Switchel, Rosa de Jamaica Shrub, Horchata Highball, or Rompopo Cream for $9 a bev? Ashley and I each had our favorites and noted the care in their curation from the Tepache’s light fermentation in-house with black cloves and Saigon cinnamon sticks to the Rompopo’s top-shelf 1883 Maison Routin syrup and nuez moscada (nutmeg). The simple yet complex flavors of the three $6 snacks offered — Tajaditas de Plátano Verde, Maíz Chulpi Frito Salado, Cacahuate Japonés Liso — essentially elevated chips, popcorn, and peanuts — were affordable and perfectly paired.
I look forward to a few more visits this Dry January and inviting in the sober community to have an adult evening with these excellent beverages and eats in Abogados Café’s welcoming and warm environment: Jan 18, 24, 25, and 31 — see you there for a celebrated NA Cheers!
