MILWAUKEE — As another 'Dry January' begins, many people will give up — or try to give up — alcohol for a month and there are plenty of places to explore that in Milwaukee.
"You're starting to see more Visit Milwaukee businesses and destinations offering an inclusive experience," said Erik Kennedy who adopted a sober lifestyle seven years ago. "It's no longer just the juices or the Shirley Temple or the kiddie mocktails."
By Erik's count, more than a dozen bars in Milwaukee now serve up mocktails. This includes:
- 3rd Street Market Hall
- Aperitivo
- Bars & Rec
- Bitter Cube
- Boone and Crockett
- Camp Bar
- Central Standard Distillery Crafthouse
- Foundation
- Great Lakes Distillery
- Honeybee Wellness
- Jazz Estate
- Lost Whale
- Puffer Fish Tiki Bar
- Saint Kate
- Sugar Maple
- The Outsider
And in the Bronzeville Neighborhood, the city's first alcohol-free craft cocktail bar is creating a buzz.
"We were already who we were," said founder, Angela Mallett. "We were already established in the community of folks who were interested in herbs and more natural methods of adding to their health."
The founder of Honeybee Sage Wellness and Apothecary says the new addition of a zero-proof bar was inspired by a conversation with the building's owner
"He had suggested that, if you're gonna open this space, another avenue of revenue could be events and you could just get your beer and wine license. And that didn't really resonate with me because alcoholism has been an issue in my family for all of my life," explained Mallett.
"My dad passed in 2019," she continued. "At the time, Angela had just opened the Apothecary's first location. Her father went to the hospital a couple of weeks after that and never came out. That's when she really began to look at alcoholism in a different way.
This new venture, adding alcohol-free drinks to the offerings her customers have already come to expect, comes from the heart. It's not a trend for Angela. She hopes to offer space for people who are challenged by alcoholism to find an alternative.
"I am really — I am certain that he's proud," she said of her father.
