The rising trend of non-alcoholic bars has caught on in Cleveland with Hingetown’s newest business, Verbena Shoppe, Cafe & Dry Bar set to open July 7.
Taking over the former Cleveland Tea Revival storefront at 1434 West 29th St., Verbena fills a corner space, with light flooding into the storefront from two massive windows. It’s small, but mighty, with a few patio tables in a shared space with Jukebox in the back, and a seating area and bar in front.
The light, airy space features a curated selection of alcohol-free spirits, beers, wines and bitters for customers to make at home — and also a menu of seasonally rotating mocktails.
Just… maybe don't call them “mocktails.”
“I personally don’t like the term ‘mocktail,’ just because it sounds like you’re getting the not-as-good version of something,” says owner Molly Cheraso. “Instead we call them ‘free-spirited cocktails.’”
Cheraso and her husband first dove into the free-spirited cocktail game through their alcoholic counterparts during the pandemic. While working from home, crafting cocktails at the end of the workday helped to break apart their work and personal lives.
In 2021, Cheraso’s husband did “dry January” (a challenge for folks to abstain from alcohol for one month), and after the end of the month decided to continue not drinking. From there, he and Cheraso dove into alcohol-free wines and started looking into non-alcoholic spirit options to continue with their cocktail-making fun.
By the end of 2021, Cheraso’s eyes were opened to the world of alcohol-free bars and spirit shops, popular in New York City.
“That was kind of the lightbulb moment of, ‘Oh, that’s what I’ve been doing,’” she says. “I think that I could bring that here.”
Following a year of market research in Connecticut, Pennsylvania and New York, Cheraso started hosting Verbena pop-up events in Cleveland. When an opportunity to work with Cleveland Tea Revival co-owner Amber Pompeii came up, Cheraso jumped at it.
“We could take this existing cafe business, and basically use that as a starting point, add the non-alcoholic retail to it, and then extend the hours in the evening to add a dry bar,” Cheraso says.
So, expect to still see Cleveland Tea Revival’s beloved menu of rice bowls, salads and soups on the menu. Open 8 a.m. until 8 p.m. Wednesdays through Sundays, Verbena will first function as a cafe with a light food day menu from 8 a.m. until 3 p.m. After 3 p.m., the lights will dim, and it'll transform into a dry bar experience with appetizers and alcohol-free cocktails.
Broken into different sections, Verbena has mixed drinks that can appeal to folks in alcohol addiction recovery, or for those who want to mimic the taste of alcoholic beverages. Some spirits are “functional,” incorporating adaptogens like ashwagandha and spices for calming or energizing effects. A grab-and-go fridge holds various canned and bottled drinks, and other shelves hold an assortment of non-alcoholic beer and wine.
The business aims to be community-driven, appealing to the surrounding Hingetown neighborhood. In the future Cheraso hopes to launch a book club, poetry events and open mic nights in the space, along with brand-driven tasting events.
It’s all in the name of inclusivity.
“There are a lot of people that don’t drink, and it’s for a lot of different reasons. Historically, there’s been some stigma around that, but what I’ve discovered is there’s a lot of people that are just happy that someone is focusing on them,” Cheraso says. “There’s been a really positive response to feeling like we’re the point of the party, not the afterthought or the add-on. This is the central, essential point of it, and it’s a place where everybody can just be really comfortable and included in the celebration.”
READ MORE: 4 Mocktails to Try at Verbena, Cleveland's New Non-Alcoholic Bar
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