Nuzzled among a collection of traditional gay bars and dance clubs at the intersection of 14th and U Streets in Washington D.C. — a new epicenter of LGBTQ+ community in the capital city — there’s a fresh alternative for partygoers seeking alcohol-free good times: Spark Social House.

By day, Spark is a cozy cafe serving coffee and tea. By night, it’s an LGBTQ+ hotspot featuring DJs, dancing, and owner Nick Tsusaki’s signature craft mocktails.

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“What can I bring to the table that’s filling a gap?” Tsusaki asked himself as he debated opening a bar in the hot new neighborhood.

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“One statistic that I found when I was doing my market research for this was that 38% of American adults don’t drink alcohol for whatever reason,” Tsusaki told the Washington Blade.

“Having bartended at four bars now around the city — Dacha, Dirty Goose, Shakers, and Crush next door — we would always get asked, ‘Oh, do you have any mocktails?’ And there was always a twang or tinge of shame when people would ask for that.”

“I myself don’t really drink that much,” Tsusaki said. “Basically, because I’m Asian, I get Asian glow,” he added, laughing. Asian glow refers to a common facial reddening in people of East Asian descent due to a genetic variation affecting how their bodies metabolize alcohol.

“Being sober in these spaces can be difficult when you don’t have a buzz going on,” Tsusaki explained. “And so I figured there’s a lot of people that like that.”

Nondrinkers include Tsusaki’s ex, who is sober and on the Spark staff.

“That’s really when I realized, like, ‘This is a huge community that isn’t coming out,’” Tsusaki said.

“Alcohol is not a requirement for hanging out with your friends. I don’t have alcohol in my house, so when they come over we just make tea and we hang out and chat. That’s kind of the vibe,” Tsusaki said of his buzzy but sober “social house.”

“It took us a really long time to figure out what to call it, because there really isn’t another kind of space like this,” Tsusaki said. “That’s why we just ended up going with ‘House’. I want you to feel like you’re coming over to our house for a hangout.”

“I think a lot of people are looking for options when they’re going out,” said David Draper, a guest at a soft opening for Spark earlier this month.

Sipping from Tsusaki’s “The Wanda, Not Cosmo” mocktail, he said, “The traditional gay bar is important, and an important part of gay culture and gay life, but I think there’s somewhat of a culture shift, as people have started abstaining from alcohol and other substances. So I think it’s cool to have a space like this.”

Jerry Krusinski, newly sober and working on a zero-proof tequila “Jalapeño Business,” said he’s “still just kind of exploring what that life means” without alcohol.

“It’s been really surprising to me how much is actually out there,” he shared. “When you’re not in the sober community, you don’t really see it that much. It’s kind of comforting to see that the world has really kind of embraced it a lot more than I feel like it used to. It leaves me excited for the future.”

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