SAN DIEGO (KGTV) — The drinks at Moonflower in Normal Heights are crafted carefully. They’re colorful and made with fresh ingredients, but these signature cocktails won't give you a buzz, they are alcohol-free.
"San Diego has a booming non-alcoholic culture right now," says Grace Davis, the bar director at Moonflower.
Moonflower is a non-alcoholic cocktail lounge inside of Maya Moon Collective on Adams Avenue. Davis says she's seen a growing market for people looking for non-alcoholic options in recent years.
"Getting to see them more often and getting to see people who are just curious about the non-alcoholic movement," says Davis.
On Friday, the U.S. Surgeon General issued a warning about a link between drinking alcohol and cancer risk saying alcohol consumption is the third leading preventable cause of cancer. The surgeon general suggested adding a label on drinks to warn about the risks.
"I think that’s going to expand on non-alcoholic even more because, just like we saw when we had tobacco associated with that late, smoking went down exponentially," says Davis.
The announcement comes just days into what’s called Dry January, a month when many choose to abstain from drinking after the holidays.
"Just to have a month when people think about the effects that alcohol has on them," says Scott Silverman.
Silverman is a San Diego-based sober coach who says people should use dry January to reflect on their alcohol consumption and how it affects their lives and those close to them and ask for help if needed.
Back at Moonflower, Davis says the surgeon general’s announcement doesn’t surprise her and thinks it will only lead to more people experimenting with going alcohol-free, either for the month or for good.
Moonflower's non-alcoholic lounge is open Thursday-Sunday from 5-9 p.m.
