Seattle’s Phinney Ridge neighborhood has a new bottle shop. But this one’s a little different, it’s dedicated to selling nonalcoholic beverages.
Like many people, owners Kirsten and Yura Vracko found themselves leaning on alcohol to get them through the pandemic lockdown. Kirsten said the steady drinking was a wake-up call for both of them.
"I think my generation, we're all getting to the point where we've got health concerns," Kirsten said.
Yura went to rehab this past summer, and that prompted Kirsten to pitch her husband the idea of Cheeky & Dry, a business dedicated to nonalcoholic beverages.
"He went in, I stopped drinking, we both felt 10 times better," Kirsten said. "I was looking for products that would get me through, wanting to go through the ritual of having a cocktail at night."
Kirsten called a friend who owns a nonalcoholic bottle shop on the East Coast for help. With her friend's guidance, she discovered a whole new world of beverage options and was inspired to open the store.
Kirsten believes it is the first and only bottle shop in the Northwest dedicated to nonalcoholic beverages. Since they opened last month, Kirsten said weekends have been nonstop.
"I told my husband when I open the shop, I said 'I really am just envisioning, like this pokey little shop where I can talk to people and dust some bottles and make a little money and it's not gonna be like this big venture,' and my head is spinning, it's my full-time job right now is keeping enough inventory in the store," Kirsten said.
Kirsten estimated they have at least 200 different products in their store. The options include nonalcoholic wines, nonalcoholic spirits to be used in cocktails or on their own, and 'functional drinks' which are beverages with added health benefits like minerals or vitamins or even CBD.
Customers have come from as far away as Bellingham and Gig Harbor, according to Kirsten. In the future, she hopes to hold events in the shop. But for now, she’s just trying to keep her shelves stocked.
