Ask Lemmy

Sounds kinda like atheist churches. Something that looks nonsensical on its face, but actually makes sense when you think about it.

One of the really beneficial things about religion is the sense of community and the ritual of going to church every week, singing some songs, etc. It's a great place for religious people to meet people, make friends, and establish a good social life that can even extend outside of the church itself. So why not do all those things, but without the magic sky fairy?

In general many people consider it to be kind of rude to ask people why someone isn't drinking/doesn't want to drink. A lot of the reasons may be things they don't want to share details about, past alcohol abuse, family history, traumatic experiences, health issues, etc. Even if it's something pretty benign like they just don't enjoy the taste it can get old just having to answer the same questions again and again because a lot of people really want to push the issue for one reason or another.

Personally, I do enjoy drinking, and don't have anything against bars in general, but I can see the appeal of sober bars. Some people are just in search of a "third place" somewhere that's not work or home that they can just go to hang out, talk to people, etc. and for a lot of people bars fill that role, but if they're not drinking for any reason, bars may not be very attractive option for them. Also a lot of people when drunk can get loud, annoying, or just otherwise unpleasant to be around, not that sober people can't also be jerks, but people in general are probably going to be dialed back a bit more when they're all sober than when they're drinking. And if your goal is to try to meet more people, you might have a chance of having more authentic interactions with the people you're trying to meet, some people's personalities can really change when they've been drinking, you might hit it off with people you wouldn't have if one or both of you were drunk.

I'm not the person you asked but I've heard of people wanting this and I would be willing as well. A non alcoholic bar would allow for less chaos in a welcoming environment. Bars are loud to force you to drink more. That incentive is gone when you take the alcohol away. Some nice light music as you converse with friends sounds great to me.

To go hang out with people in a cool setting while having alcohol-like drinks without the problems. Like going to a Kava bar or something, or tea bar. Bunch of places out there with themed drinks to hang out. Sometimes you like the taste of cocktails but don't want to get drunk.