The Quality Makers: Brianda Gonzalez of The New Bar

Tell me about The New Bar.

The name has multiple meanings to me: in the most literal sense, it's the idea of what your new bar could look like if we were to remove the association of alcohol with your bar. It’s also meant to refer to a new bar of elevation and quality in non-alcoholic drinks. I actually built The New Bar as an online concept. The idea was to curate the best non-alcoholic drinks from all over the world, and then make those super accessible to consumers in a way that felt fun and easy to understand. There's been a ton of amazing innovation, especially during the past two years, so our goal really is to taste test everything that exists within the category, and make sure that consumers are having the best first experience possible. Today we curate non-alcoholic wines, beer, spirits, and more, and bring them to consumers both online and through our retail locations. 

Is it a personal journey that sparked your interest to start this company/space? 

It's deeply personal. Catalina Island has a population of 3,000 people and a 1 square mile town called Avalon. Avalon is entirely driven by a hospitality economy, so within that one square mile, there are 16 bars. I grew up seeing how alcohol played such a huge role in everything we do – how we celebrate, how we relax, how we reward ourselves, how we let loose. On top of that, my dad's a bartender, and he and I are really big on mixology as well, so creating together has always been a crucial part of how we enjoy each other's company. I would say I'm a bit of an indulgent person. I love flavors and tasty drinks, so I was always pretty fascinated by pairing a really good cocktail or wine with our foods. My dad and I spent a lot of time tinkering and playing with flavors.

A few years ago, my dad got really sick. We ultimately found out he has an autoimmune disease and so we had to make a lot of changes, including alcohol. That was the acute moment that made me really pay attention to the category. I was looking for ways that he and I could continue to enjoy the things we love to do together, and I found that non-alcoholic spirits really gave us that opportunity, to participate in mixology and celebration without hurting his health.

What have you learned in terms of why we associate fun and spaces of celebration with alcohol? 

We've historically associated alcohol with fun, glamor and relaxation, mostly because the industry has mastered its marketing techniques. If you think about the movies we watch – when somebody's really stressed or depressed, a coping mechanism that you often see displayed is turning to drinking. Or when there's big, opulent celebrations or moments of excitement, you also see alcohol playing a role. We've been taught that that’s the case, not necessarily because ethanol is driving that celebration, but because that's the narrative we’ve been sold. 

I’ve found that it's so much less about the ethanol than it is about creating that space and that moment. If you think about unwinding at the end of the day, or why we even drink in the first place, the act of sharing food and beverage is inherently human. We've been doing it since the beginning of time. For me, when we're sharing a meal or a drink with a friend, what we're really trying to do is to slow down for a moment, create space to enjoy the moment we’re sharing with someone we care about. 

The New Bar hosts a ton of events, and I’ve personally learned and viscerally felt that feeling connected, getting to unwind and letting loose, is not reliant on the alcohol itself. There's a lot of studies on the psychology of holding a drink in your hand. It immediately makes you think that you’re in a more relaxed setting, like you're celebrating. At the events we throw, we'll make cocktails that taste like alcohol, we’ll have music blaring, the right lighting, the right amount of bodies in a room, and so many times people have walked away from an event of ours and said, ‘Are you sure I'm not drunk? I really feel like I had a night out.’

Would you say that your audience consists of those that are already alcohol free? 

If you look at the general trendline and statistics, you’ll see that the majority of people who drink non-alcoholic beverages also drink alcohol. There's this misconception that the category exists for folks in recovery, sober folks and pregnant women, but the reality is that this category is becoming omnipresent and relevant for all kinds of drinkers. I've started to see people switch between alcoholic and non-alcoholic drinks during a night out, so they don’t get too hungover the next day. Most people I talk to want to drink less, so making that option more accessible is the key. I’ve found that as you put these excellent alternatives and options in front of you, you see your behavior shift over time, and you become less and less reliant on alcohol. I didn't enter this category because I never wanted to drink again, but being in this space helped me make better decisions about how I wanted to treat my body, and now I rarely drink.

I walk into your physical space in Venice. What does my experience look like?

The New Bar is a retail concept, so we're not a full service bar. We do a ton of experiential events and daily tastings, so every time you walk into the store, you can try something new. The intention behind that is to really inspire a sense of curiosity and exploration, because there is something for everybody in the non-alcoholic category and it's about finding what’s right for you. Our employees are intended to serve as experts within the category and we take a lot of pride in that. Folks walk in, they get to try the tasting of the day, and then it’s usually a ton of education through a guided exploration of the space. We have folks who have never tried a non-alcoholic drink and folks who want us to make recommendations based on their experience and taste. We've developed a really great environment of exploration with zero judgment. We try our absolute best to be really nuanced and understanding of the spectrum of interests and needs within the category.

Tell me about your curation process. 

It's really about spending time with the products and truly experimenting, reading, and keeping an aggressive eye on everything that's coming up in the space. There are three things that I generally pay a lot of attention to when we're curating: the first is definitely the quality of the product, so does it deliver on the promise of replacing an alcoholic experience? There are a lot of things that are non-alcoholic, but that does not mean they’re all adult non-alcoholic beverages. The second thing is, what's the quality of the ingredients and the team behind the drink? Are they truly using the best process and artisan approach to creating a great drink? And the third thing is really about the experience of the drink. When you think about making a behavioral change, there has to be something that triggers you to reach for something healthier or more mindful. And a lot of that begins with your eyes and with the way that a bottle looks and feels. I pay a lot of attention to branding and to the quality of the product visually and viscerally as you're interacting with it. 

What differentiates you from other brands in the industry? 

I believe that our approach to this category reflects what the consumer wants. I don't think that this category needs to be bougie, overly luxurious or inaccessible. I think that consumers want to navigate this category in a light hearted and fun way. It doesn't need to be serious, stiff or about deprivation. Our entire mission is to make being good to yourself fun. That shows up in everything we do. It's the ethos and the process by which we bring these things to people that truly sets us apart.

What do you hope people take away from your brand and your space?

I hope that people who interact with The New Bar leave feeling empowered to rethink things, maybe reframe what alcohol could look like in their lives. I hope that feeling really extends beyond just their drinking rituals. As you  become more intentional and mindful about your behavior and start to make incremental improvements in one area, it bleeds into other areas. It builds a sense of confidence and enthusiasm towards improving yourself in a way that feels good and fun rather than restrictive.

‍Find your favorite non-alcoholic beverage here.