Northern beaches: Booze free bar planned for Whistler Street, Manly
What’s believed to be Sydney’s first alcohol-free bar, aimed at the growing number of young people who don’t drink, is being planned for Manly.
Manly
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A booze-free bar is set to open in Manly aimed at a growing number of young people who want to socialise in a setting that doesn’t centre around drinking alcohol.
Leanne Freel, 42, who is behind the new venture, said the number of young people who are abstaining from booze is growing.
She said she will be offering non-alcoholic versions of beer, wine and cocktails, that taste like the real thing.
It will even have a separate gin station with the zero-alcohol versions of the spirit shipped over from the UK.
Ms Freel, of Mona Vale, believes it will be the first non-alcoholic bar in Sydney.
“Non-alcoholic bars are taking off elsewhere in places like Ireland,” she said.
“Young people are not drinking like previous generations.
“I think it will also be a good venue for first daters and the health conscious.”
Dr Michael Livingston, from the Centre of Alcohol Policy Research at La Trobe University, said drinking habits have changed massively in Australia in the last 10 to 15 years.
He said the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare’s National Drug Strategy Household Survey found that the proportion of 18 to 24 year olds who don’t drink at all has increased from 11 per cent in 2001 to 19 per cent in 2016.
“It’s interesting to see how venues are responding to this,” he said.
“These non-alcoholic bars are opening up in the UK and US.
“People are looking for ways to socialise that don’t centre around drinking, especially young people.
“Part of that is around health and how to live your life in a healthier way.”
Ms Freel who has just signed the lease on the former Inn of the Sixth Happiness site in Whistler St, said she is a drinker herself and likes a bottle of wine at weekends.
However, she expects drinkers to also frequent her proposed 60-seat venue, as she thinks it will be a good place to start an evening, before heading somewhere else later.
Ms Freel who is about to start renovating the site said she is aiming to open by September, but can be ready by the end of July if social distancing restrictions are lifted.
While she does not need a bar licence she said she does need to submit a DA for changes to the venue.
Patrick Kelleher, from Pine Property, who found Ms Freel the Whistler St venue, said he thought a non-alcoholic bar will add to Manly’s already eclectic bar scene.