Jon Barembruch founded Santé Dry Bottle Shop in 2023 after a career in the restaurant and liquor industry led him somewhere unexpected: the non-alcoholic drinks aisle, which he found seriously lacking. When his wife stopped drinking during pregnancy, Jon went looking for quality options they could both enjoy at home and came up mostly empty. That gap became a business. Santé opened as Alberta’s first store dedicated exclusively to non-alcoholic beer, wine, spirits, and cocktails, giving people a place to browse, ask questions, and get actual recommendations rather than hunting through a corner of a liquor store.
What is your business called and what does it do?
Santé Dry Bottle Shop: We opened in 2023 as Alberta’s first store dedicated exclusively to non-alcoholic drinks, carrying a wide selection of non-alcoholic beer, wine, spirits and cocktails.
What made you want to do this work?
Before founding Santé, I spent years in the restaurant industry and was most recently managing a liquor store. I always figured my interest in beer and wine would keep pushing me further into the liquor industry, but that changed when my wife became pregnant with our now four-year-old. She, of course, stopped drinking, and I went looking for good non-alcoholic drinks for us to enjoy at home. What I found was a small selection and limited access to quality non-alcoholic drinks. That is what led me to start Santé, so people could shop somewhere that actually cares about non-alcoholic drinks.
What problem did you want to solve with the business?
I wanted a space where people could shop for everything non-alcoholic in one place. There were already a few online retailers for non-alcoholic drinks, but no one to actually ask questions to or get a recommendation from. While some liquor stores are starting to catch on and stock non-alcoholic drinks, I really don’t think you should have to go into a liquor store to find them.
Who are your clientele/demographics?
Non-alcoholic drinks are for everyone, so our consumers span every age and background, from people cutting back to those who don’t drink at all. Gen Z makes up a large part of our shoppers, and many have never had alcohol to begin with.
How does your business make money? How does it work?
We sell our non-alcoholic drinks at our store inside Crossroads Market. If you can’t make it to the store, we offer local delivery within Calgary and ship nationwide.
We also work with various bars and restaurants within Calgary to help curate and supply their non-alcoholic offerings. Check them out at Chairman’s Steakhouse, Fleetwood Lounge, Village Brewery, and Basin at Fairmont Chateau Lake Louise.
Where in the city can we find your profession?
We are located inside Crossroads Market at 1235 26 Ave SE, open every Friday, Saturday, Sunday from 9:00 AM – 5:00 PM
What is the best question a prospective customer could ask a member of your profession when comparing services? Give the answer as well.
Certainly the most common question I get is: “Is this any good?” Thankfully, I can truthfully answer, “Yes!”.
Almost everything in store has been sampled by us first to ensure that it is a quality non-alcoholic drink that is worth being on our shelf. While the flavour will always be a bit different without alcohol, we look for drinks that are complex and comparable to their traditional version, allowing you to keep your same habits and rituals of having a good drink.
What is the best part about what you do? What is the worst part?
The best part is watching someone discover that good non-alcoholic drinks actually exist, and finding their new favourite.
The worst part is the logistics of shipping liquids and glass bottles, especially when it comes to Canadian winters. Since there is no alcohol to prevent freezing, we have to restrict shipping for half of the year.
What is your favourite joke about your own profession?
“Non-alcoholic wine is just juice.”
It is actually quite the opposite, as non-alcoholic wine is just regular wine but with extra steps. Non-alcoholic wine starts with the same premium wine grapes, goes through the same fermentation, aging, and blending, and then it undergoes an additional process to remove the alcohol while leaving all the flavour. If anything, there’s more work that goes into a non-alcoholic wine than what you would find in a traditional bottle, so calling it juice kind of undersells how much goes into it.
Where can we follow you?
PAY IT FORWARD: What is another local business that you love?
Greenbriar Market + Refillery
