CHAMPAIGN — Experience CU is helping people find alcohol-free beverages during Dry January. The organization aims to promote Champaign-Urbana as a destination and generate economic development by highlighting various community businesses and activities.
IPM Morning Edition host Kimberly Schofield spoke with Experience CU Vice President of Destination Branding and Development Terri Reifsteck about the CU Mocktail Trail.
REIFSTECK: So we have been putting together some experience passes for the past two years now. We launched one earlier on the Asian culinary scene here because we have an incredible range of Asian restaurants here. We did one on public art, as well, but one of the things that we really thought would be important would be to showcase the people in our community that have carefully crafted mocktail menus. It’s easy for a place to say, ‘I’m going to, you know, not put alcohol in that Margarita,’ right? But people want those very carefully crafted mocktails. And so for Dry January, we want to put a spotlight on those businesses that have really been thoughtful for that. So our team worked on talking to our different restaurants and bars and collecting some of those menus and capturing photos to put into a passport. So people can download that to their phone and then they can go to these different spots and check in, and after a certain number of check-ins, they’re eligible to win a $50 gift card to one of those places. So it incentivizes people to go out and support our local restaurants while also discovering a new mocktail.
SCHOFIELD: Where did the idea for the passport come from?
REIFSTECK: It’s a pretty big thing within the tourism industry. A lot of people do taco trails or coffee trails. For us, we really wanted to do things that were really kind of unique to our community. Of course, mocktails, you know, you can find just about anywhere, but I think in our community, we have some very conscientious bars and restaurants that really think about this community and what they’re looking for. So for us to put this path together, it was because we wanted to shine a spotlight on those things that really make us a unique destination. It was the same case with the Asian passport. You know, we have 70 Asian restaurants in Champaign-Urbana alone. We have over 200 pieces of public art. So these are things that are really special and are unique to our community. When we thought about the ideas of, you know, going forward with these passports, we wanted to do it in a way that was really specific to our community, versus sort of that blanket, you know, taco trail, right? Something that really showcased Champaign-Urbana.
SCHOFIELD: When I thought of alcohol-free beverages — I bartended for years and years back at Memphis on Main, and pretty much the only offerings we had were one type of beer or there would be juice or something — but I have a couple of friends who don’t drink alcohol, but they enjoy the social experience of being in a bar or being in a restaurant. So when I saw that this Mocktail Trail happen, I really could only think of maybe one or two bars in the area that specifically highlights or emphasizes that they have alcohol-free beverages. And this is exactly what you’re saying. This is something the CU Mocktail Trail with Experience CU — having the passport — is going to spread the word that there are more than two bars.
REIFSTECK: That’s exactly right, you’re absolutely right. There’s a lot of people that want to take advantage of our nightlife scene, but maybe don’t feel like there’s options available to them. And for us, promoting the accessibility and welcoming part of our community is really important. We feel like this passport does that because we have over two dozen businesses listed in this passport, all confirmed with mocktails currently on their menu that are carefully crafted recipes from their bartender specifically. And so that’s really special and kind of shows that they are seeing what this community wants and they are working hard to respond to that. I’m really excited that it will give some people an opportunity to maybe go to a place that they didn’t think they could go to before. We certainly are showcasing it for Dry January, but it will be around for at least the next year. It’s a lifestyle for a lot of people, and we want them to do it all year round.