New pop-up bar concept with alcohol-free drink list coming to Athens in 2024

Bar Sober, a new pop-up bar by home.made, will offer alcohol-free drinks and food by Homy Made, the restaurant's food truck, every Wednesday starting Jan. 3.

Bar Sober plans to offer about five to six alcohol free drinks, alcohol-free beer and perhaps alcohol-free wine as well. One drink is called grapefruit and fennel, while another one is called carrot ginger turmeric.

"It will be an easier, more casual vibe for people who are having some drinks, listening to some music in a cozy atmosphere and having delicious food from Homy Made's food truck," owner Mimi Maumus said. "We want it to be a situation where nothing feels missing."

Bitters such as angostura and peychard or CBD products, such as Delta 9 THC tinctures, for those who want a buzz, will be an option to add to any drink. Some drinks with bitters that Maumus likes are soda water with either angostura, grapefruit lavender or Polynesian kiss.

Maumus noted that she will offer Athletic brand alcohol-free beer and Dram alcohol-free bitters.

The inspiration being Bar Sober

Maumus said that during the peak moments of COVID-19 she stopped working and underwent some self-reflection. She decided that she had a bad relationship with alcohol and wanted to walk away from it.

"I don't identify as an alcoholic," she said. "I identify as someone with a problematic relationship with alcohol. I've realized people's relationships with substances are on a spectrum, just like everything else."

After talking with some friends, she created the concept behind Bar Sober.

"We're trying to have things to offer for all people," Maumus said. "I have found that I used to spend a lot of time drinking with friends, or that was the way I would socialize with friends. And now I'm finding that it can be a little difficult."

Maumus calls her new pop-up Bar Sober because she views the word "bar" as a verb. For example, she said that you can "go bar and do it sober."

Honero Elizalde-Castro, the chef of Homy Made food truck, will make food from scratch, such as tacos, tortas and quesadillas.

"He is someone who has, through the course of working professionally in kitchens, reconnected with the food of his youth, which is sort of my own personal love of cooking; the nostalgia, the recreations and experience of trying to give people food experiences that were meaningful to me and my life," Maumus said. "That is something that has connected him back to his childhood home. It's a celebration of his food culture."

Bar Sober, located at 1072 Baxter St., Athens, will open on Jan. 3, 2024 around 6 p.m. and close when the bar starts getting empty. Call 706-206-9216 with questions.

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This article originally appeared on Athens Banner-Herald: Home.made owner adds pop-up alcohol-free Bar Sober to Athens offerings