Revolutionizing Sobriety: Abby Ehmann’s Journey from Traditional Bar Owner to Pioneer of Sober Bars at Hekate Café and Elixir Lounge

Bar owner Abby Ehmann opened a sober bar after her top two customers stopped drinking. “Customer one had a stroke. His doctor said, ‘Maybe you shouldn’t drink so much,’” Ehmann told me when I first visited Hekate Café and Elixir Lounge in 2023. Her second customer reevaluated his relationship with alcohol during the pandemic, and realized it was a dead end.

Ehmann asked herself how she could recreate the community she had at Lucky, her regular bar, but without the alcohol. Eventually the idea turned into Hekate, which opened in early 2022. At first, they served only coffee and herbal elixirs, in keeping with the bar’s witchy theme. (Hekate is the goddess of witchcraft, magic, ghosts, and the full moon, among other things.) In the bar’s two years of operation, it’s expanded to serve innovative drinks made from all the cutting-edge non-alcoholic spirits. 

I’ve visited twice, in January of 2023 and in January 2024, when Ehmann kindly let me host a book signing for The Sober Travel Handbook. Both times I was impressed with the drinks and the ambiance. Heavy gold-framed mirrors adorn the dark purple wall behind the bar, which runs most of the length of the place. Pretty glass light fixtures hang from a carved white ceiling. Shelves swell with art, books about magic, and mysterious knickknacks. 

Mistress Nette, who tends bar and reads tarot cards, appreciates that Ehmann preserved the bar’s character. “It looks like an old-style East Village bar,” she said. She also likes that Hekate doesn’t stink of stale alcohol.

I met Alfie, also a bartender at Hekate, during my most recent visit. She agrees that working in a non-alc bar has advantages. “I haven’t had to throw any drunks out. Haven’t gotten in a fist fight. And no poop has been thrown at me yet.” Really?! “Wish I was kidding,” she said. “If I had a nickel for every time, I’d have one nickel. Which is not a lot, but it’s weird that it happened even once.” 

Alfie also likes working for Ehmann. “It’s the most hands-on I’ve seen an owner be in quite a few years,” she said. “Abby makes all her simple syrups and things.”

Hekate’s menu is long and impressive, with original N/A cocktails, mocktails modeled after classics, zero ABV wines and beers, and unusual sodas. On my recent visit, I ordered one of the Dry January specials, the Jungle Bird. It was a delightful blend of Lyre’s Spiced Cane, Lyre’s Italian Orange, pineapple juice, lime juice, orange clove simple syrup and All the Bitter New Orleans Bitters, garnished with coconut shavings. If you want to frequent a place where the bartenders put a lot of care into your delicious N/A drink and 100% support your sober lifestyle, Hekate is the place to go. 

About Hekate Café and Elixir Lounge

Hekate is an intimate sober bar and specialty tea shop fueled by feminine energy, designed for those who seek the alchemy of herbal elixirs. It is a convivial community place for anyone who might appreciate an alternative to bars.

Location:

167 Avenue BNew York, NY 10009

• Website hekatenyc.com

• @hekatenyc on IG

• Facebook

About Teresa Bergen

Teresa Bergen had the great good fortune to quit drinking very young and has enjoyed long-term sobriety. She lives in Portland, Oregon but travels all over the world as a travel writer. She also works in the oral history field, helping to document and preserve history. Learn more HERE.

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If you or someone you know is experiencing difficulties surrounding alcoholism, addiction, or mental illness, please reach out and ask for help. People everywhere can and want to help; you just have to know where to look. And continue to look until you find what works for you. Click here for a list of regional and national resources.

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