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Liz Baranowicz, founder of sober nightlife pop-up Soft Times Lounge
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Baranowicz mixes a booze-free cocktail.
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The bar area inside Studio One Twenty, site of the first Soft Times Lounge pop-up
Liz Baranowicz has a special place in her heart for dive bars. After more than a decade behind the well as a bartender, she still appreciates a beer-and-shot combo and rambling regulars, and she thrives in the flow state of service. But these days, after leaving alcohol behind, she’s dreaming up a vision for a “sober millennial ‘Cheers.’” On June 3, she’ll introduce Soft Times Lounge, an alcohol-free nightlife pop-up at Studio One Twenty in North Side, offering zero-proof cocktails, connection and a first glimpse at her plan for a permanent sober social hub.
“A huge part of what I want to do is create the ability for everyone to be in a nightlife vibe without the presence of alcohol,” she says.
Baranowicz has lived a few lives. The Florida native went to school to study communications, and during her 20s she earned her chops working at watering holes in Wisconsin, known for its serious imbibing habits and neighborhood bars that double as living rooms. There, she grew enamored with bar culture, the familiar faces, the community and all its creature comforts.
“I loved it the first time I went to a bar,” says Baranowicz, a former burlesque dancer and current visual artist. “I love the vibe, I love being out, I love a party, I love meeting people, and bartending was always fun.”
A few years ago, to be closer to family she moved to Richmond, a city already on her radar through her roller derby circle. The move also coincided with the start of her sobriety. Baranowicz says alcoholism runs in her family, and while drinking had always been a part of her social life, she began to wonder whether it needed to be.
“I’d always had this lingering thought: Is this something that might become a problem?” she says. When she started medication for ADHD, she stopped drinking. A month in, she says, clarity set in: “I realized, ‘Oh, I prefer this. This is better.’”
After working in the corporate world, Baranowicz began looking for a change of pace. When she lost someone close to her last year, she says, “It reset a lot of my priorities.”
She moved forward with Soft Times Lounge, connecting with the Capital Region SBDC (small-business development center) and advisor Jordan Hanna Gray. She is also currently enrolled in the Sans Bar Academy — an online course led by Chris Marshall, founder of one of the first nonalcoholic bars in the country in Austin, Texas — where she is part of a small cohort studying everything from drink theory to flavor building and business planning.
The inaugural ticketed Soft Times event will feature unlimited access to a menu of zero-proof signature cocktails, nonalcoholic beers and wines, and sodas. Baranowicz is crafting a magenta-hued hibiscus margarita, a sweet-tart sipper with NA tequila and a hibiscus salt rim; a velvety, foam-topped Lavender London Fog, balanced and slightly bitter and served in a coupe glass; and more booze-free beverages.
Baranowicz preps a nonalcoholic hibiscus margarita.
“There’s a fun opportunity in NA spaces to be really creative, because you’re not focused on a liquor, you’re not fighting or highlighting its flavor,” she says.
One ingredient in particular where Baranowicz refuses to compromise is nonalcoholic bitters, despite their added cost. While traditional bitters contain alcohol, they’re typically used in such small amounts that each drink contains only a negligible amount. However, over many drinks, that small amount can add up.
“I’m only using nonalcoholic bitters,” she says. “That’s important enough to enough people that it’s a priority for me to create a space where there’s truly no alcohol.”
As both a bartender and a sober person, Baranowicz brings a unique perspective to Soft Times that informs even the smallest details. In her planning, she is considering everyone from teetotalers looking to be wowed by a craft cocktail to those who want a drink that tastes nothing like alcohol at all, alongside sober-curious guests and imbibers simply seeking a different kind of night out. Rather than chasing a trend in the beverage industry, she’s aiming to build a thoughtful space shaped by firsthand understanding and the strong desire to still have a freaking good time.
With a punk-ish DIY spirit and the heart of a deeply hospitable bartender, Baranowicz stresses that sober nightlife doesn’t have to be polarizing. She’s in favor of sweaty dance parties, date nights that extend beyond coffee shops, work happy hours without expectations. More than anything, she wants to establish a space that is welcoming to everyone.
“I want it to be somewhere you go with your friends and have a really fun night out — you can meet people, have a cool time, get a phone number,” Baranowicz says. “A place where adults can still have that bar experience, celebrate things, have date nights, drink something delicious … and in an environment that reflects your community and reflects the way you want to live.”
Her larger end goal is a brick-and-mortar NA bar and nightlife space that preserves all the pluses of partying without centering alcohol, tapping into the pleasures of going out rather than its more raucous side.
The interior of Studio One Twenty
For now, Baranowicz is focused on holding monthly pop-ups and experimenting with themed nights. She says the 1970s-inspired interior of Studio One Twenty — a hybrid space shared by beverage consulting firm Salt and Acid and design studio Marble Moon Interiors — was the perfect launching point.
“My intention is to get a permanent space,” she says. “I’m starting with pop-ups to create something scalable and figure out what it is I’m building, and then grow into that space. My vision is full of nostalgic bulls--t — I am who I am.”
The name of the pop-up is a play on “soft drinks,” while promising the opposite of hard times. A nonalcoholic awakening devoid of negativity, aiming to offer something a little fun, a little thoughtful, wholeheartedly rooted in connection.
“No hard times, just soft times,” Baranowicz says. “I hope it scratches that itch of wanting nightlife — wanting to go out, meet people, dancing, have conversations and still feeling part of something.”
The inaugural Soft Times Lounge event takes place June 3 at Studio One Twenty in North Side. Tickets are $40.
