A Bar Where the Drinks Make You Feel Better
An interview with Carl Radke, Summer House star and co-founder of Soft Bar.
Make Yourself at Home is a series of conversations with the people behind your favorite food, drinks, movements and destinations — the experts who have mastered the art of making you feel like you’re right where you belong.
When Carl Radke got sober in January 2021, he noticed something was missing in New York's social landscape. The Summer House star, who's been a Bravo mainstay since 2017, found himself wondering why spaces for connection and community seemed to revolve almost exclusively around alcohol. This June, he’s addressing that gap with Soft Bar, a morning-to-night café and bar in Brooklyn (Greenpoint, to be precise) focused on functional beverages rather than alcoholic ones.
The concept goes beyond sobriety. Radke envisions a place for anyone who wants a thoughtfully crafted drink, whether they're looking for a focus-enhancing mushroom coffee in the morning or a social atmosphere without alcohol at night. "It's about mindful consumption," he explains. "We want everyone to feel welcome, regardless of how they categorize their relationship with alcohol."
I talked to Carl about sobriety, reinventing nightlife and creating a space that welcomes everyone.
On creating Soft Bar: I've been living in Brooklyn for two years and New York for more than 10 years. I wanted to create something that's available all day — morning, afternoon, and evening — that goes beyond just a coffee shop or non-alcoholic bar. Many coffee shops only offer black coffee or lattes, with no other options. Soft Bar isn't a "sober bar" — it's about mindful consumption. We want everyone to feel comfortable, including those who don't categorize their lifestyle but maybe want a break from drinking or want to connect without alcohol.
We also serve functional drinks I don't see anywhere else in Brooklyn or New York. You can walk up and say you want to be more focused, and we'll serve you a functional beverage with lion's mane, electrolytes, or vitamin B12. These functional ingredients typically only exist direct-to-consumer or in some canned beverages, but they're hard to find as freshly made drinks.
On working with alcohol in his past life: At Loverboy, Kyle, Amanda and I created a healthier hard tea back in 2016. We took high-quality tea, premium ingredients, zero sugar, and lower calories. I'm applying that same logic to non-alcoholic drinks at Soft Bar. Not every non-alcoholic drink is actually healthy, low sugar, or uses natural ingredients.
When I look at products that are sent to me and talk to bottle shop owners, consumers are asking for low calorie, low sugar, and functional ingredients like THC or CBD. At Soft Bar, we want to be a destination for premium drinks that are genuinely better for you. We're not trying to replace alcohol with carbs and sugar.
Collaborations and partnerships are important. Loverboy partnered well with dating apps, Tao Group, shoe companies, fashion brands, beauty brands, and swimsuit companies. I want to apply similar strategies with Soft Bar, partnering with mushroom companies, sober DJs, and bringing direct-to-consumer health and wellness brands to life in a physical space.
At Loverboy, we learned the power of women as consumers. Most alcohol advertising caters to men, but women are responsible for making most purchases. Women are typically earlier adopters in trends, fashion, and lifestyle choices. For Soft Bar, I've leaned on a team that's majority women.
On his personal sobriety journey: I've gone to sober bars and AA, which was very important to my recovery journey. But in AA, there's a hardcore community that doesn't even think non-alcoholic beer is okay, and I've struggled with some of that.
What I set out to do with Soft Bar is create something for everyone.
Not everybody is comfortable going to AA or saying they have a problem. I wanted to offer a space where, regardless of how you categorize your relationship with alcohol, you're welcome.
Our motto is "come as you are" and we'll serve you an amazing non-alcoholic drink. I want it to be a mix of people - those who don't drink at all and those just looking for a night off. I hope to bring together different walks of life with various relationships with alcohol, creating a space that combines fun, music, and culture without alcohol.
On the vision for Soft Bar: We're transforming an industrial garage facility in Brooklyn into a cafe and bar, aiming to open in June. The front half of the space is a cafe, and the second half is our higher-end cocktail bar.
In the morning, we'll be a cafe where you can have premium coffee from SEY (a Brooklyn roaster) or alternative options like mushroom coffee with lion's mane. We'll have light food like pastries from local bakeries, and we're hoping to finalize a deal with Upside Pizza to have their pizza oven inside our spot.
We also have a third space flex area with booths and banquettes that will be available for private parties and branded events. There’s also a loft above with a creative space, podcast recording area, a test bar, and corporate offices.
Here’s a preview of what the Soft Bar space will look like.
On laptop culture at cafes: We welcome people with laptops, but we’ll require a purchase for Wi-Fi access. My theory is that if you give people better functional menu options (beyond just coffee), they'll buy more items because those options aren't available elsewhere.
If you're at a coffee shop at 2 PM, you don't need another black coffee. You might want a mushroom lion's mane tea instead. I believe that if you give people these options, they’ll buy them.
On going out without alcohol: Many people decline going out because there's not a non-alcoholic option, and being in an environment with alcohol is challenging if you're trying to not drink. But you can have fun without alcohol.
I want people to view Soft Bar as a place to still go out and have fun while doing something better for yourself. It embodies more of a lifestyle. You're doing something good for yourself by stepping foot in there.
I also hope people incorporate it into their night. You could get dinner at Rule of Thirds across the street then come to Soft Bar, or have a pre-drink at our place, get an energy boost with a functional vibe, then walk over to a nightclub. You can start your night in a more intentional way.
On the future of Soft Bar: We're tossing around the idea of VIP access, where members would get invited to live podcast recordings upstairs or new product launch events. We're also considering a membership model with faster Wi-Fi. I have a friend who works at WeWork who's guiding us on some membership ideas, but right now we're focused on getting our doors open first.
Thanks for making yourself at home. 🍹 I hope your week is filled with sunshine and moments of joy.
Great interview! So grateful to have Carl in the NYC sober space 🤘🏽
Think charging for WiFi is not a good idea. The concept is people will come to your store because of the community and free WiFi, making purchases. If you bring a laptop with you to a coffee shop, your intention is to work and purchase something there. If you have to pay for a product and the WiFi, those people will go elsewhere.