BOSTON – A unique store in Boston’s South End is offering bottles of non-alcoholic drink options to customers, ideal for those hoping to give up alcohol for Dry January.
Non-alcoholic bottle shop
Dray is a non-alcoholic bottle shop. It was created by Pat Dooling after he decided to give up alcohol completely.
“I think it almost takes you stopping to realize just how many activities there are that are centered around drinking,” said Dooling.
Dooling quickly realized how many non-alcoholic options were out there but they were also hard to get.
“We’d love to change that because I think for me, I very quickly decided, I made this positive choice, I’m pretty confident in saying I don’t drink for certain reasons,” said Dooling. “But I still wanted another option to feel part of, I didn’t want to be the guy who had a cranberry juice or a Diet Coke.”
While Dooling wanted to prioritize his mental health, there are a variety of reasons why someone might want to get sober but still feel included in social situations.
“Maybe it’s a life event. Maybe they’re pregnant for the first time or maybe they’re just taking a break, a week or a month like Dry January,” said Dooling. “For me, it’s physical health, mental health, really things that I struggle with like anxiety, depression. The hangovers are horrendous or just that sort of slight being off the next day.”
Helping others quit alcohol
Dooling is also helping others who are giving up alcohol by putting a portion of his sales into his nonprofit, Dray’s Better Days.
“We give back to local recovery causes, essentially. So people who need a little more help on their sobriety journey,” said Dooling. “We’ve funded some great little local operations. We really help at the very early stages and acute stages of their health journey.”
Whether you’re giving up alcohol for a week, a month or for life, Dooling said he knows it’s not an easy ride. That’s why he’s making non-alcoholic options more accessible, in hopes it’ll be more socially accepted.
“The fact that I can make a good decision and buy a non-alcoholic drink and then use that as an extension to make someone else’s life better, I think that’s awesome,” said Dooling.
