No-alcohol cocktail bar will close in downtown Raleigh. Here’s its last night of service
Raleigh rang in the new year with the city’s first spirit-free cocktail bar.
But after only four months in business, Umbrella Dry Bar announced it was closing its brick and mortar location in downtown Raleigh and shifting to a pop-up model.
In opening as North Carolina’s first non-alcoholic cocktail bar, Umbrella signaled a growing embrace an interest in sober spaces within the Triangle’s food and beverage community. Spirit-free drinks have increasingly made space on restaurant cocktail menus, but Umbrella was the first to try a cocktail bar experience without the booze.
“This is just a little bit of a pause until we find what we really need to be a sustainable model,” Meg Paradise, who co-owns the bar with Kevin Barry, said in a video statement on the bar’s Instagram page. “This concept has really proven to be more successful than I ever could have imagined.”
Umbrella opened its doors on New Year’s Eve 2023, moving into the former Garland space on Martin Street in Raleigh.
The last night of service will be Friday, April 26.
After that Paradise says Umbrella will operate as a mobile events bar while the owners look for a new location.
“We’re especially proud to have introduced a social setting for sober and sober-curious guests, and take a lot of pride in having served over 7500 non-alcoholic cocktails since opening,” the bar posted on Instagram. “In the process, we’ve had the opportunity to connect with so many who are choosing to make conscious sips and wellness a priority in life, and we look forward to continuing that journey with you.”
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