NORTHAMPTON, MA (WGGB/WSHM) -- Fewer Americans are drinking alcohol than at any point in nearly 90 years and bars are changing to keep up.

Kyle Piscioniere has been behind the bar for a decade, so it’s safe to say he knows his alcohol or, in this case, lack of alcohol. Change is pouring into his bar, Green Room, as Gen Z takes their seat at the bar. “We have noticed it ramped in January this year. We ran an [non-alcoholic] option menu and that was very successful. People really liked it,” he explained.

It’s not just a trend he’s seeing. The entire country is too. The most recent data available from a Berenberg Research report in 2018 shows Gen Z drinks, on average, 20 percent less than millennials, who also drink less than older generations.

Why the shift? Theories range from public health campaigns to Gen Z’s social space being online instead of a bar, to the legalization of marijuana for about half the country. However, mocktails definitely don’t hurt either. The number of adults in the U.S. who say they drink alcohol has fallen to 54 percent. That’s the lowest rate in nearly 90 years, according to an August 2025 poll from Gallup.

The demand for non-alcoholic drinks is skyrocketing. According to research from International Wine and Spirit, non-alcoholic drink consumption is expected to increase by a third this year alone. Piscioniere said the Green Room is ready for it. “We do put a lot of thought and consideration into the way that we present our [non-alcoholic] options. There are some that we won’t do because we just don’t think they meet the mark, so we test them all prior to putting them on the menu, same as our actual more alcoholic cocktails,” he noted.

As the non-alcoholic market grows, bars like the Green Room say they’re just getting started — and so is the demand.

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