Dining pain point: less alcohol

# Dining pain point: less alcohol For years, one of the easiest ways for a restaurant to make money was to sell drinks. A burger might carry a modest margin, but a cocktail, a glass of wine, or a second beer could turn an average table into a profitable one. That model is now under pressure across the United States as diners keep going out but order fewer alcoholic drinks once they arrive. (Forbes: ) The shift matters because alcohol has long been one of the highest-margin parts of a restaurant check. When guests skip that round of drinks, restaurants do not just lose beverage revenue; they lose some of the profit cushion that helped offset rising food, labor, and occupancy costs. In a business where margins are already thin, a smaller bar tab can quickly become a bigger earnings problem. (Nation’s Restaurant News: ) (Forbes: ) The backdrop is a broader change in American drinking habits. Gallup reported in August 2025 that just 54 percent of U.S. adults say they drink alcohol, the lowest reading in the poll’s long-running trend, and the average number of drinks consumed in the prior week fell to 2.8. The same survey found that 53 percent of adults now say moderate drinking is bad for one’s health, showing how much public attitudes have shifted. (CBS News: ) (U.S. News: ) Health concerns have become harder for consumers to ignore. In January 2025, the U.S. Surgeon General issued an advisory stating that alcohol consumption is causally linked to increased risk for at least seven types of cancer, including breast, liver, and colorectal cancers. That warning gave fresh force to a trend that was already building, especially among younger adults who are more likely to see drinking as optional rather than automatic. (U.S. Department of Health and Human Services: ) (Nation’s Restaurant News: ) Money is the other half of the story. Consumers who still dine out are being more selective about what they add to the check, and alcohol is often the easiest line item to cut. Forbes, citing NIQ’s 2025 on-premises analysis, reported that bars, restaurants, and other licensed venues still account for 49 percent of all U.S. beverage alcohol dollars, or about $108 billion annually, but only 49 percent of on-premises consumers said they had a drink away from home in the last month even though 77 percent had gone out to eat. (Forbes: ) That gap captures the new dining pattern: people are still showing up, but they are no longer treating alcohol as part of the default meal. A dinner out that once might have included two cocktails and a dessert is now more likely to be one entrée, water, and a closer look at the total bill. For operators, the traffic is there more often than the profitable mix. (Forbes: ) The industry is also dealing with a structural change in where meals are consumed. The National Restaurant Association said in April 2025 that nearly 75 percent of all restaurant traffic now happens off-premises, meaning takeout, delivery, and drive-thru account for almost three out of every four restaurant occasions. At full-service restaurants, off-premises traffic rose from 19 percent of total traffic in 2019 to 30 percent in 2024. Alcohol does not travel with those occasions as naturally as appetizers, sandwiches, or soft drinks do. (National Restaurant Association: ) (National Restaurant Association off-premises report via NCRLA PDF: ) Restaurants are feeling this squeeze at the same time many are struggling to stay profitable. The National Restaurant Association’s 2026 industry outlook said more than 6 in 10 operators reported traffic declines in 2025, and Restaurant Business reported that only 42 percent of operators said they were profitable last year. Sales may still be rising in dollar terms, but much of that reflects menu price increases rather than easy operating conditions. (Restaurant Business: ) (National Restaurant Association 2026 report PDF via WTOP: ) That is why the alcohol slowdown hurts more than it might have a few years ago. Food costs and labor costs have both climbed sharply since 2019, according to the National Restaurant Association’s 2026 report, leaving operators with less room for any soft spot in the check average. When a high-margin category weakens during a period of elevated costs, restaurants have to replace that profit somewhere else or accept leaner earnings. (National Restaurant Association 2026 report PDF via WTOP: ) Some chains are already trying to fill the gap with nonalcoholic drinks. Nation’s Restaurant News reported that Texas Roadhouse introduced a beverage program that includes mocktails after softer alcohol sales, and SPB Hospitality said it has leaned further into nonalcoholic options at brands including Logan’s Roadhouse and J. Alexander’s. The goal is not just to follow a wellness trend; it is to sell guests something with more margin and menu appeal than free water. (Nation’s Restaurant News: ) There is real demand behind that strategy. IWSR reported in February 2025 that no- and low-alcohol beverages grew 13 percent by volume in 2024 across the world’s 10 largest markets, and the United States added 37 million new no-alcohol consumers and 36 million new low-alcohol drinkers between 2022 and 2024. In the U.S., IWSR said full-strength alcohol volumes declined at a 1 percent compound annual rate from 2019 to 2024 while no-alcohol volumes grew at a 28 percent annual rate. (IWSR: ) Still, a mocktail does not automatically solve the economics. A restaurant can make a nonalcoholic drink feel premium with house syrups, glassware, and presentation, but many guests still expect it to cost less than a cocktail with liquor. Operators therefore need beverages that feel special enough to command a strong price, while also finding other ways to lift check averages through desserts, add-ons, loyalty offers, and menu engineering. That is the real challenge behind the headline: replacing not just lost alcohol sales, but lost alcohol margin. (Forbes: