It’s Dry January. Pour One Out for the Bar Owners.

Yahaira Gil Maestro, a craft beer bar owner in New York City, supports the wellness goals of her customers.“We know people want to start healthier habits, and we respect that,” she said. But as a business owner, she feels a bit more conflicted about Dry January, the voluntary month of sobriety that has become trendy in recent years. Because so many of her customers stop drinking at the same time, the month is a collective financial drain for her. It also comes at a time when business is already slow because of cold weather and holiday fatigue. “I’m willing to advocate for a dry June. Our business can better take the hit then,” she said, laughing. “Or maybe people can take turns stopping to drink?” She is an owner of BierWax , a bar known for its vinyl collection that has locations in Prospect Heights, Brooklyn, and Ridgewood, Queens, the latter of which opened less than a year ago. There, business has been so slow that Ms. Gil Maestro has had to let go of one bartender and reduce the hours of another, and to close on Mondays and Tuesdays this month. Ms. Gil Maestro is also seeing less […]

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