Gen Z is buying tickets in droves (hallelujah, they finally got real jobs!), but guess what? They’re not drinking as much. And to compound this problem for most venues, January has always been a brutal month after three months of holiday indulgence. Toss in Dry January, and suddenly it’s a veritable nightmare financially. Revenue takes a nosedive, and if you’re not ready, it’ll take your profits with it.

So, why aren’t they drinking? Don’t they know you have bills to pay, that you give almost all of the ticket sales to the artists??

While news outlets will tell you it’s all about “health and wellness” (eye roll) and preventing bad decisions (ok, we can get behind this) the real culprit, according to many vocal Reddit users, (which is pretty much all Reddit users) is price.

Despite that shiny new business card with their name on it, Gen Z (and the rest of America, thanks to inflation) can’t spend $15-40 on a ticket, then buy 2-3 drinks for themselves and a date, totaling $120 + for the night.  Throw in the cost of a baby-sitter, and people will start robbing banks to see a show.

So, how can small independent venues make it through this dry spell without sacrificing their bottom line?

1. Change Up Your Ticket Packages

Many Venues increase prices for ticket sales and drinks, but that infuriates hard-working regulars and fans, spreading the misery as people begrudgingly shell out more money, or opt-out completely, leaving empty seats for the Venue.

The trick is to find something that people ARE finding value in and charge for that (instead of increasing prices, punishing fans, and the few that are choosing to drink). While health is a part of their decisions, the majority are saying high prices are what’s stopping their spending mood at the start.

Instead, offer ticket packages that throw in something else—like a free mocktail, or access to a VIP line at the bar, VIP parking (hello parking cones in front of your building!), a meet and greet with the artist or album signing, or even a meet and greet with other die-hard fans (with a ‘free’ drink/food – getting them to buy it upfront in the ticket).

Don’t fall into the trap of creating high priced VIP packages, create smaller packages with a few add-ons each.

2. Make Mocktails Fun (Yes, Really)

Mocktails aren’t just for people dealing with addiction—they’re the new cool. They open up new audiences for you like all-ages crowds, pregnant/nursing mothers, people with sensitive medical interactions, and others watching their health.

Expand your mocktail list, or host a mocktail mixologist contest and let your crowd decide the winner. The winning drink makes it onto your menu, and the winner gets free show tickets or some sweet bar swag.

Boom, instant engagement, and no one will bug you with “just water, please.”

3. Cut Your Drink Prices (stay with me on this one…)

Imagine you’re a 24 year old kid, you’ve just learned how to make mac and cheese from the box, gotten your first real job and girlfriend, and you’d like to see a show (no hate-mail please on my gross-generalization of people age 24). 

How likely are you to buy you and your girl several drinks (often $10-18 ea) to get through the night? On reddit, the phrase “ridiculously expensive” comes up often on this topic.

Do an experiment: make your drinks less expensive or offer hefty specials/discounts during your busiest time, and see if bar sales increase significantly to overcome the loss on previous margins (try a two-for-one deal?).

Be sure to ask the artist on stage to highlight your unbelievable drink prices, maybe even offer a toast to the good times (“Everyone grab your drink, we’re going to do a toast in 5 min!”).

If you’re known as the spot with the affordable AND delicious drinks, you’ll get people in the door giving you a twofer benefit, more tickets sold + higher volume of drinks sold. People love bargains, and if they’re not blowing their rent money on one drink, maybe they’ll come back for a few more shows.

This AWESOME chart shows you all of the restrictions by state and by drink special (ie: restrictions and bans on free beverages, multiple drinks for a single price, happy hours, etc.)

4. Get Sponsors on Board

If drink sales are tanking, look for sponsorships that fit your crowd.

Gen Z is all about CBD, fashion, and sustainability, so find a sponsor that fits your audience.

One thing you do need to focus on here, is making sure the brand has a good experience and gets some bang for their buck.  If you’re expecting them to hand over cash for a single vinyl sign hung in the back, you won’t have much luck AND you won’t have repeat sponsors.

Think about it from their perspective and create 3-4 different ways they can get meaningful interaction with your customers. Be willing to be creative based on who they are and what they’re trying to accomplish.

For example:

• A liquor brand does tastings or jello shots (which you could sell??)
• A fashion brand adorns the bar tenders with their outfits or jewelry and plants a few hotties in the audience with their wares, a drink special is named after their top piece, and signs with QR codes are on the bar. Anyone who buys the drink special gets entered to win a necklace (available to take home that night!)
• Having a foam party? get it sponsored by Ms. Meyers soap!! Or Tide…or (he he) a lubricant company.
• A CBD edibles company to sell their gummies for a markup and a sponsorship fee. Make a special drink that highlights their candies (ie: rim a drink with these THC pop-rocks style candy)
• Have a sneaker ball – a sneaks night that is all about the kicks! (Uhh…here is a handy sneaker slang dictionary for your prep). Get a local fashion company, or if you’re fortunate to live in a town with TWO major sneaker conglomerates (like Portland, OR), go after Adidas & Nike as a sponsor.

Get creative!

5. Beef Up Your Merch Sales

Virtually every Venue in America sells a  > insert product (hat, shirt, glass) < with their logo on it.  Don’t be this Venue…at least, don’t sell only that. Boring merch that turns the person into a walking advertisement doesn’t sell, unless you have massive caché.

Take a cue from El Arroyo, a Mexican restaurant in Austin known for its hilarious signs. They’ve gone viral for putting snarky wisdom on shirts and mugs.

Don’t know what to say? ChatGPT is just dying to give you some ideas.

(here’s proof: 

My command: 

“Create 5 funny, short sayings that would go well on a t-shirt or mug in the style of El Arroyo (but not copying it directly – do not plagiarize!), for a dive bar. These should not be slogans that are selling the bar, they should be sayings people would want to wear on their shirt, something that would represent how they think or who they are. Make them as snarky, funny, and sarcastic as possible.”

Results:

• “Running late is my cardio.”
• “My liver’s fine. It’s my decision-making that’s questionable.”
• “I’m not arguing, I’m just explaining why I’m right… again.”
• “I’m not day-drinking; I’m on a liquid diet.”
• “Of course I talk to myself. Sometimes I need expert advice.”

6. Sell Cannabis Products

If your state’s cool with it, why not sell cannabis edibles or drinks? Gen Z is all about it, as the health benefits from cannabis far outweigh alcohol (according to the Vice capital of America, Nevada). Plus, no next-day “what did I say?” regret. Ok, we can’t promise that.

But you will have a more chill crowd, and instead of them having god knows what in their system before they arrived, you might have a slightly better idea.

Check out the map of where cannabis is legal here and see if you can cash in.

7. Embrace the Sober

There are sober bars around the country that are more than a glorified coffee shop with night hours. They provide a vital space to gather – with bar vibes – making it accessible to large groups of people that don’t want, or are legally prohibited (minors) from drinking alcohol.

When asked what a “Sober bar” is, reddit user cantakethshyfrom_me said: “It’s like an atheist church. There aren’t enough 3rd spaces (places that aren’t work or home) that foster social engagement as is, and if you don’t participate in certain rituals like drinking or worship, you’re cut off from even more of them.”

And the paying audience can be huge. One sober bar bartender described “Founders Day,” a 3-day celebration “commemorating the founding of Alcoholics Anonymous on June 10, 1935. Members honor the founders, Dr. Bob and Bill W., and reflect on AA’s impact in supporting those recovering from alcohol addiction. which brings in thousands of sober folks to Akron, Ohio every year.”

Take a look at these dry bars from coast to coast for inspiration.

Try hosting a sober-friendly event, not only does it stretch your creativity to explore new avenues for revenue not focused on alcohol and make gathering more accessible to non-drinking crowds. (Do consider the prominence of your liquor bottle collection.)

Dry January and decreased drinking doesn’t have to mean dry profits. With a few of these moves, your numbers will be up and to the right, even if your patrons are sticking to water and mocktails.