Alcohol-free pub

Zippie84

New alcohol-free pub opening in Glasgow

http://www.mindwavesnews.com/new-alcohol-free-pub-opening-in-glasgow/

We caught up with Donna Campbell, who has set up Cafe GRO, a new alcohol-free venue opening on the City’s Saltmarket this month.

The venue will offer food, drink, acoustic nights, a pub quiz: everything you’d expect to find at your local, except the alcohol.

Donna explained why she decided to open the pub.

“I’m in recovery myself, I have been for a long time, and it’s really hard to find somewhere that’s not all about alcohol. Most of the coffee shops in the city close at tea time.

It’s not just about people in recovery. Lots of people want to avoid alcohol, whether it’s for religious reasons, because they want somewhere they can bring their family or because they’re that wee bit too young to go to pubs.”

Interesting idea and hope it works for them.

A google search shows that it's not the first alcohol-free pub, but it's not an idea I've heard of before.

I wonder if it's something we'll see more of in the coming years.

I drink alcohol but can take or leave it, and would definitely be happy to go to an alcohol-free pub. For me, a night out is as much about the banter, atmosphere etc than the drink.

Just thinking also, one of the regular mid-week nights out me and my friends (weekly pub quiz) go to I'm pretty sure there's nights that none of us are drinking alcohol, so chances are they'd also be happy enough with an alcohol-free pub.

Hans Bricks

Suppose it's a nice alternative for pioneers. As a drinker I vividly remember the night I went out completely sober.

Horrific.

Akrasia

I'd love to go with the naggin of vodka hidden under the shirt, just for old times sake:)

For Forks Sake

Akrasia wrote: »

I'd love to go with the naggin of vodka hidden under the shirt, just for old times sake:)

Puts me in mind of this

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=otuxEIHl1QY

Duckworth_Luas

We had one of those in my home town

It was called a cafe

libelula

Duckworth_Luas wrote: »

We had one of those in my home town

It was called a cafe

And did it open until all hours and hold the events that pubs do?

iDave

Will it serve alcohol free beer?

Zippie84

Duckworth_Luas wrote: »

We had one of those in my home town

It was called a cafe

So a cafe that offered everything that a pub does (bar alcohol)? Opened pub opening hours etc?

Not had one of those around my way. Would say all the local cafes stay open until 9pm at the very latest, and I'm in a city.

Also never had a pub quiz in any of my local cafes as far as I know. Or live music. Or a juke box. Or a wee dance floor. None of that kinda stuff in my local cafes.

Where's this pub-style cafe you mention out of interest?

Hope it works out for them, I'm quite into the idea of free alcohol!:pac:



















Serious answer - isn't an alcohol-free pub basically just a cafe/restaurant that doesn't have a liquor licence?

The Moldy Gowl

So it's a cafe with late opening hours?? Why dosent she just stop being so pretentious and just open a cafe until late. Nothing stopping her, except her holier than thou attitude

Zippie84

Deleted User wrote: »

Serious answer - isn't an alcohol-free pub basically just a cafe/restaurant that doesn't have a liquor licence?

I would say that a pub was literally just a room that people come together and buy and consume alcohol then yes.

But most pubs do a lot more than that, and do a lot more than what cafes / restaurants too, and seems from the article linked that that's the case here too.

Shenshen

I really like the idea.

One thing I've always missed here is a place you can go to after 6pm with a nice menu of different kinds of non-alcoholic drinks (as in, juices, maybe a smoothie, non-acoholic cocktails). Best of luck to her, and I do hope it catches on.

Zippie84

Gowlasauras Rex wrote: »

So it's a cafe with late opening hours?? Why dosent she just stop being so pretentious and just open a cafe until late. Nothing stopping her, except her holier than thou attitude

which bit was it that made you conclude that it's just a cafe with late opening hours?

Duckworth_Luas

libelula wrote: »

And did it open until all hours and hold the events that pubs do?

It went out of business

jimgoose

I'm not surprised. They don't need booze in Glesgae, have you ever heard one of them try to pronounce "burglar alarm"?? :pac:

Zippie84

Duckworth_Luas wrote: »

It went out of business

Pretty sure the poster was asking whether it opened late hours and did all the other things that pubs do before it went out of business...

The Moldy Gowl

Zippie84 wrote: »

which bit was it that made you conclude that it's just a cafe with late opening hours?

Ammmmmm the whole thing? What will people be drinking? Tea and coffee of course? Juice? Fizzy drinks?

She is gonna have gigs there too?? Yeah, cafés do that as well.

It's just a glorified cafe that opens late and has gigs and poetry reading and a few comedy nights. It's nothing special apart from having no beer which is stupid.

One of them opened in limerick last year. It's closed now and opened up in a pub. Everyone thinks the idea is great in theory. They never last.

Next thing we will hear off is a food free restaurant :rolleyes:, makes as much sense to me as a pub where you can't get a proper drink.

Eutow

jimgoose wrote: »

I'm not surprised. They don't need booze in Glesgae, have you ever heard one of them try to pronounce "burglar alarm"?? :pac:

It's a buglarulelaerm.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S5WFl4E8VCI

libelula

Gowlasauras Rex wrote: »

Ammmmmm the whole thing? What will people be drinking? Tea and coffee of course? Juice? Fizzy drinks?

She is gonna have gigs there too?? Yeah, cafés do that as well.

It's just a glorified cafe that opens late and has gigs and poetry reading and a few comedy nights. It's nothing special apart from having no beer which is stupid.

One of them opened in limerick last year. It's closed now and opened up in a pub. Everyone thinks the idea is great in theory. They never last.

Untwist your knickers there would ya

Zippie84

Gowlasauras Rex wrote: »

Ammmmmm the whole thing? What will people be drinking? Tea and coffee of course? Juice? Fizzy drinks?

She is gonna have gigs there too?? Yeah, cafés do that as well.

It's just a glorified cafe that opens late and has gigs and poetry reading and a few comedy nights. It's nothing special apart from having no beer which is stupid.

One of them opened in limerick last year. It's closed now and opened up in a pub. Everyone thinks the idea is great in theory. They never last.

Well I for one see what a pub does as very different to what any café I know of does. I don't know of any café local to me doing the things that pubs do, so can see a clear distinction.

And the nights that I've been out with people in pubs and we're not drinking alcohol, it is nothing like a café that I'm in.

In relation to having no alcohol (don't think it has any alcohol, not just no beer) it may be stupid to some, but I expect that to some it'll fit in quite well with their lives / needs.

Zippie84

Giuliana Limited Soap wrote: »

Next thing we will hear off is a food free restaurant :rolleyes:!

Lol well restaurants are primarily about food, for many people pubs are not primarily about alcohol. :rolleyes:

The Moldy Gowl

libelula wrote: »

Untwist your knickers there would ya

It's Monday morning and I'll be cranky if I want.

Lapin

jimgoose wrote: »

I'm not surprised. They don't need booze in Glesgae, have you ever heard one of them try to pronounce "burglar alarm"?? :pac:

Thats racialist against Scottish ****.

jimgoose

Lapin wrote: »

Thats racialist against Scottish ****.

See ye Jimmy!!

https://flic.kr/p/9oPb2U

Menas

I like the idea, even if it is unlikely I would go to such a place.

But I would have thought that for this to work you would need a sizable population of non-drinkers who are friends with other non-drinkers and who don't like going to a traditional pub.

Is there enough of that target audience to make this a success? We will have to wait and see.

Zippie84

Trigger Happy wrote: »

I like the idea, even if it is unlikely I would go to such a place.

But I would have thought that for this to work you would need a sizable population of non-drinkers who are friends with other non-drinkers and who don't like going to a traditional pub.

Is there enough of that target audience to make this a success? We will have to wait and see.

My best guess at this point would be in Glasgow city centre being a large city then quite possibly, but in many other areas then probably not.

libelula

Gowlasauras Rex wrote: »

It's Monday morning and I'll be cranky if I want.

I concur. Everybody and everything is STUPID today

The Moldy Gowl

Zippie84 wrote: »

My best guess at this point would be in Glasgow city centre being a large city then quite possibly, but in many other areas then probably not.

But in big cities there is no need to drive because of the public transport so can have a few drinks. Would probably be better in smaller towns were people drive to town an won't have to get a taxi home.

I don't think it's going to work. A novelty for 6 months then will close

Menas

Gowlasauras Rex wrote: »

I don't think it's going to work. A novelty for 6 months then will close

Or they end up shortening the hours, serving artisan coffee and rebranding as a 'Cafe'.

Zippie84

Gowlasauras Rex wrote: »

But in big cities there is no need to drive because of the public transport so can have a few drinks. Would probably be better in smaller towns were people drive to town an won't have to get a taxi home.

I don't think it's going to work. A novelty for 6 months then will close

I don't really see how the issue of driving comes into it. I didn't read the information on it as the target audience being people who drink and who want to drink but have to drive.

The target audience was described as non-drinkers / people who specifically want a non-drinking environment, so I don't see how the driving vs public transport comes into it, since the target audience seems to be people who wouldn't be drinking anyhow, no matter what establishment they go to...