BY KADIE TAYLOR
THE OBSERVER
AUBURN-OPELIKA — Creating a space for everyone, the Auburn-Opelika Mocktail Trail helps connect those who are alcohol-free with drinks that they can enjoy with friends on a night out locally.
“We were trying to figure out [a new trail idea] for January, the start of the year, and it felt like a no-brainer to collect some of the better mocktail options in town,” said A-O Tourism Director of Communications and Marketing Cat Bobo. “So we reached out to a good many of our partners — some of our locally-owned, independent restaurants and cocktail bars — and we were really delighted to see that some of these places had started actually putting a mocktail or a no-alcohol menu printed onto their menus for the first time — that I had seen at least. So it got easier and easier the more we tried to find people who offered these options. And then, some of our other partners in restaurants have mocktails that they do really well, that are really unique to their businesses. It might not be on a menu, or maybe it’s on a specials menu or a temporary type menu, but most of them also said that mocktails are relatively easy to make, and so we wanted to share this for the people who are choosing the non-alcoholic [drink options].”
Bobo said the A-O Tourism Mocktail Trail can help locals and visitors who are avoiding alcohol, for any reason, connect with options where they can commune with others who are looking for cocktail and drink options.
“[This is for] people who are avoiding alcohol — for whatever reason, maybe it’s because they’re pregnant, dry January, some other health-related issue or they just are cutting the calories of alcohol,” she said. “We put this together, and it has actually been pretty successful. Our trail is a self-guided tour, so we hope people will use it as a resource and a reference — especially our locals. We hope that they use our website and use our content that way, but it was also meant to invite visitors who are not interested in drinking to come explore some of our really neat restaurants, bars and things like that. I think the non-alcohol trend has grown — it’s becoming more and more common. And now even little Auburn and Opelika are kind of trailblazing in that way, [through providing options like this].”
While many local cocktail bars and restaurants with extensive cocktail menus often change their specialties frequently, Bobo said the restaurants and bars listed on the A-O Tourism Mocktail Trail page should have seasonal mocktail options available and that customers could likely request past mocktails even if they are not on the menu.
“It never hurts to ask your server or your bartender what mocktail options they have,” she said. “Lucy’s, for example, is one of my all-time favorite places to grab a mocktail or a cocktail. They’re always stunning, they’re always delicious and they really have a strong mixology program there. So it definitely does not hurt to ask, and I feel, honestly, most of the [options on the A-O Tourism Mocktail Trail] still might be completely available — they might not be advertised on a menu or on social media, but you could at least ask. And if they don’t have [the options on our trail], ask what else they have — because I feel like bartenders are more and more creative these days.”
Bobo said that as locals have engaged with the A-O Tourism Mocktail Trail, many have shared positive feedback that it encouraged them to get out and try drinks at new places.
“We’ve gotten great feedback,” she said. “A lot of people have told us that they would never have gone into some of these businesses if it weren’t for us listing them and including them in trails, which is the best feedback I think we can get. All we want to do is promote our destination, these unique restaurants and places and get new business into them. So for me, that’s the most rewarding feedback.”
As spring brings floral blooms and summer cravings roll in, Bobo said A-O Tourism offers other trails for locals and visitors to enjoy, including a Coffee Shop Trail, Auburn & Opelika Floral Trails, Pimento Cheese Trail, Mural Trail, Burger Trail, Local Art Trail, Lemonade Trail and more.
“[All of our trails are] different, and they’re not all necessarily based around food and beverage,” she said. “The Floral Trails are something that we’re talking about right now, and kind of gearing up for as the weather warms up. Our Azaleas start to bloom, and there are trails in Auburn as well as Opelika for the Floral Trails, and that’s something that is really popular with our visitors. They will come into town, they will come get the guide and they will walk, bike, go for a run or just drive through our floral trails because they are stunning… I think we have 12 or 13 trails; we keep adding them, and they’re doing really well. Even if you live here and have been here your entire life. It gives you an opportunity to go into a different spot, order something unusual, try something new and it’s been fun — it’s been a good time.”
To explore the A-O Tourism Mocktail Trail and the other trails offered, visit www.aotourism.com/things-to-do/trails-of-ao.
