The owner of a booze-free bar has hit back at trolls who mocked his alcoholic alternatives as ‘w**ky hipster drinks’.
Karl Considine, 39, said that negative reactions to his Manchester bar ‘Love From’ were common and that “alcohol free doesn’t equal to boring”.
The comment, left on the bar’s TikTok account, said: “If your bar is still going in 12 months do a call out post and I’ll eat humble pie washed down with one of your w***y hipster drinks”.
Love From responded by saying: “We absolutely love what we are doing at Love From but it doesn’t come without its challenges.
“We regularly get comments like this, sometimes daily. Even though we exist for purpose, the internet still likes to be mean to us and sometimes it takes its toll.
“Who would have thought an alcohol-free bar can create such a reaction that someone feels the need to be like this. BUT – We aren’t going anyway.”
Mr Considine said that more people than ever were deciding against alcoholic drinks for different reasons.
He said: “It’s not just for the sober community, it’s for a broader community as well. People that are completely sober from alcohol, people who just fancy a night off, or someone quitting for a month while they run a marathon.
“If you say I’m sober, many people will say ‘is it not boring? Do you still go on nights out?’ People are very curious and Love From was created to challenge those perceptions and provide an alternative experience.”
Mr Considine went into treatment for alcohol and drug addiction in January 2021 after what he calls “a bad problem that had progressed over a decade”.
He explained: “I was the guy who liked to go out and party with friends most nights.
“It got to the point where in the final few years before I quit, it was isolating and damaging to my mental and physical health. I was told at 36 that if I kept drinking the way I was I was going to die.
“Since getting sober, my life has completely transformed I couldn’t be healthier or happier and I’m doing what I love. I didn’t have a revelation, I just decided I wanted to open an alcohol bar to provide another place for people to go.”
Mr Considine who works with Alcohol Change UK and the Greater Manchester Night-time Economy said negative comments were common.
He added: “I think sometimes when you do something that challenges the norm in society, presenting an alternative can evoke an element of fear. People are made to think about their own relationship with alcohol which triggers a response that doesn’t feel nice. Although I do respond sometimes, I choose to ignore most comments as I know when I was drinking I wasn’t an angel.”
“I have to come at it from a place of compassion and our customers are very loyal. If you’re going to an alcohol-free bar for the first time – you’re in for a treat.
“Without fail, when customers come to a night out with us people rave about our drinks and it might be the best cocktail you’ve ever had.
“It’s about having a really good time and you might not notice you haven’t even had a drink.”
