After 20 years of bartending, Joshua James decided it was time to take a year off drinking.
“I was deep in the craft cocktail world, beer brewing, wine and happy hours, and just trying to drink every beer in Asheville, North Carolina,” said James, who lived there most recently before moving to San Francisco. “And I was like, I’m taking a break.”
He checked into Friendship House, a substance abuse recovery program for Native Americans in San Francisco (James is Tolowa). Two weeks in, COVID-19 hit — but he knew he was exactly where he needed to be. By the end of the program, he’d discovered a newfound clarity.
“I woke up every day with so much energy because I didn't have a hangover, and my brain started coming back,” he said. “And then I was just so driven.”
It’s been over a year now, but James is still not drinking. And that newfound drive he mentioned? It led him to a new passion: the non-alcoholic (NA) beverage community. He started reviewing different NA drinks on YouTube and Instagram, as @joshthenonalcoholic. But this passion took him even further: On Friday, James opened Ocean Beach Cafe, a San Francisco restaurant dedicated to building the largest non-alcoholic beverage selection in the world.
He stumbled upon the chance to buy the cafe accidentally, from a business owner looking for an out in the midst of the unforgiving COVID economy.
“I walked in here like four months ago, in late September. And the guy was like, do you want to buy the place?” recalled James. “And I was like, sure, how much? And he threw out a number and I was like, all right, let's talk.”
James and the owner of Kawika’s Beach Deli — the former business at 734 La Playa St. — connected after finding out they were both from Hawaii.
“I didn't have the money for that, but I was like, I’ve got so much energy and I would love to do it,” he said.
With the help of a loan from crowdfunding platform Kiva, he managed to raise the money — and soon, the keys to the cafe were his.
Ocean Beach Cafe, its exterior decorated in the colors of the Native American Medicine Wheel, opened to the public last week. On a quiet residential corner just one block from Ocean Beach, curious neighbors peered into the new joint to discover James’ friendly face, beachy seafoam walls and a large blue surfboard mounted on the wall. Diners could choose from a healthy, vegetarian and vegan-friendly menu of coffee, breakfast burritos and kale salad, along with huli huli chicken and mac salad (nods to James’ connection to Hawaii) — and of course, a fridge full of non-alcoholic drinks.
Now, when you hear the term “non-alcoholic beverage,” you’re probably thinking of O’Doul’s. But the truth is, low- and non-alcoholic products have come a long way in the past few years. The fridge at Ocean Beach Cafe is fully stocked with all sorts of non-alcoholic craft IPAs, sparkling wines, and bottled mocktails. And they’re not just for people in recovery.
“First of all, with the whole spritz movement, people were drinking lower alcohol beverages and they were like, ‘Oh, this actually really works for me because I can drink longer. And I’m not getting messed up all the time,’” explained James. “Sure, there's still people that want really strong drinks, but across the masses, there was this general trend for lower alcohol in the last four or five years.”
U.S. booze sales have dropped over the past few years, especially among young adults, while the popularity of low-ABV drinks like hard seltzers has skyrocketed. And this growth in the low and no-alcohol beverage industry is only expected to continue.
Meanwhile, many bars and restaurants across San Francisco have begun adding mocktails to their menus, from Nari to Trick Dog (although selections are currently limited due to the pandemic), and at the beginning of last year, Bizzy’s Dry Bar opened: the first all-alcohol-free bar in Oakland (which appears to be closed permanently, according to Yelp and Google).
“Drinking culture itself is shifting,” said James. “... Now there's a new wave. It is going to be pretty darn cool to be a non-drinker. It went from non-alcoholic beer like O'Doul's to, oh my God, there’s craft non-alcoholic bad-ass IPAs, and I can drink them at lunch! I can see these in the offices in downtown San Francisco and Silicon Valley, like next to the seltzers.”
With Ocean Beach Cafe, James is hoping to educate people unfamiliar with the non-drinking community.
“Millions of people don't know about it ... That's why I'm doing this,” he said. “And in the earlier stage, a lot of people won't necessarily get it, but we're going to have conversations like we're having right now with so many people in here, and that's doing something greater than myself and doing something that is an extension of the wellness industry.”
In the next few months, James is planning to add mocktails to the menu. And as passionate as he is about the nonalcoholic beverage industry, he also wants to eventually offer a real beer and wine menu at the cafe, too. Above all, he wants Ocean Beach Cafe to be a laid-back community space that is welcoming to all.
“I want people to have a healthy place to eat that's not too expensive,” said James. “It's definitely not pretentious, has really good vibes, and is super neighborhood-centric.”
Soon, he plans to start offering free beachside delivery, and also wants to bring art and music into the space with open mic nights, as well as by displaying artworks from rotating artists. During my visit, he busted out his beautiful ukulele, which his father carved, for a few quick songs. He plans to model a parklet for outdoor dining in the same wood-carved style as the ukulele.
A year and a month since quitting drinking, James can’t believe where his journey has taken him — from checking into a rehab program to opening his very first cafe by the beach in San Francisco.
“The serendipity has been so thick, so many big things just kept falling into place, like the people that I met and the items that I needed and the deals and the negotiations and the support,” he said. “It's just been like, there's no doubt I'm doing exactly what I was supposed to be doing. And I feel like I'm exactly where I'm supposed to be.”
Ocean Beach Cafe, located at 734 La Playa St. in San Francisco, is open every day from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. (currently for takeout only).
"cafe" - Google News
January 26, 2021 at 07:04PM
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Ocean Beach Cafe, SF's newest beachside restaurant, is making non-drinking cool - SF Gate
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