Your Dry January Field Guide to Kansas City
Restaurants, bars, and activities that won’t have you missing booze.
January in Kansas City means one thing for a lot of people: a reset. Maybe you're doing Dry January for the first time. Maybe you're sober-curious and testing the waters. Maybe you just want a break from the hangover cycle. Whatever brought you here, you're not alone, and you're not stuck with club soda and lime.
Kansas City's non-alcoholic scene has quietly grown into something worth exploring. We're talking craft mocktails made with alcohol-stripped spirits, a fully temperate bar 45 minutes down the road, aperitivo lounges with serious NA menus, and (yes) a booze-free kava bar in Parkville where you can work, hang, and actually relax.
This is your guide to making Dry January feel less like a chore and more like a healthy habit change.
The Drinks: Four Bars Taking NA Seriously
These aren't places with a single Shirley Temple hiding at the bottom of the menu. These are spots where the bartenders put the same care into your zero-proof drink as they do the whiskey sours.
Wild Child - Shawnee, KS
Wild Child is the sibling bar to Drastic Measures (a James Beard Award finalist), and it was built with NA in mind from the start. That's the difference. Half the menu features spirits that have been stripped of their alcohol, not sugary substitutes or afterthoughts.
The 1960s-inspired interior glows with floral wallpaper and jewel tones. Grab a seat at the bar and watch them hand-crank shaved ice for the NA French 75 Kakigori, or try the Lacto-Strawberry Spritz made with alcohol-stripped amaro and local strawberries macerated in lactic acid. Mocktails run $10, and every one of them is crafted, not assembled.
The details:
11022 Johnson Drive, Shawnee, KS
Open Wed-Thu 4-11pm, Fri 4pm-12am, Sat 3pm-12am, Sun 1-8pm
Reservations recommended via Tock
The Nostalgia Room - Lawrence, KS
Worth the 45-minute drive. This is Kansas's first fully temperate bar, and it's not trying to be a bar without alcohol. It's something entirely different.
Owner Emily Kate Johnson built Nostalgia Room from her own recovery story. The space is intimate, draped in family photos and vintage furniture, tucked above Repetition Coffee at 412 E. 9th Street in East Lawrence. The cocktail menu is serious (think chamomile calendula with lemon, or green tea vermouth with plum vinegar). They note caffeine and CBD content on everything, so you know exactly what you're sipping.
The vibe is less "mocktail bar" and more "the living room of someone who really knows how to host."
The details:
412 E. 9th St., Lawrence, KS (ground floor, accessible)
Open Friday and Saturday evenings, plus coffee/tea service during the week
Visit nostalgia-room.com for current hours
The Campground - West Bottoms, KCMO
An aperitivo cocktail bar in the historic Stockyards District that takes its NA menu as seriously as its natural wines and funky beers. The Campground's spirit-free cocktails use proper NA products like South African blood orange aperitif and Casamara Amaro Leisure Soda, not sugary shortcuts.
The space itself is moody and intimate, with locally sourced food that leans into hunted, fished, and foraged ingredients. Order an Americano Abstinence or ask your bartender to build you something custom.
The details:
1531 Genessee St., Kansas City, MO (West Bottoms)
Reservations via Tock
Open for lunch, dinner, happy hour, and brunch
Deviant Kava - Parkville, MO
This is home base. A booze-free third space at 405 Main Street in Parkville, built for people who want great drinks and real conversation without the hangover.
Deviant Kava isn't a mocktail bar trying to mimic the bar experience. It's something else: part coffee shop, part neighborhood lounge, part workspace. Two floors of seating (work downstairs, hang upstairs), a fireplace, a piano, and a menu designed around kava, coffee, tea, and wellness drinks.
Kava is a ceremonial root from the South Pacific, traditionally prepared for over 3,000 years. It promotes relaxation and social ease without intoxication or cognitive fog. If you've never tried it, January is a good time to start.
What's on the menu:
Traditional kava (brewed the authentic way)
Sparkling kava seltzers (blackberry orange, pina colada, tangerine mango)
Yerba mate, nootropic drinks with lion's mane and cordyceps
Full espresso bar with beans from Café Corazón
Zero-proof mocktails
The details:
405 Main Street, Parkville, MO
15 minutes from downtown KC, 15 minutes from KCI
Check deviantkava.com for hours
Beyond Drinks: Things to Do in January
Dry January doesn't have to mean staying home. Here's what's happening around Kansas City this month that doesn't revolve around a bar tab.
Cinnamon Roll Class at Rye
Rye's cinnamon rolls are legendary (Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce are reportedly fans). Now you can learn how to make them yourself. Pastry chef Keara Masson walks you through Rye's recipe in this hands-on class at their Country Club Plaza location.
You'll leave with a dozen mini cinnamon rolls and cream cheese icing to finish them at home. The class includes non-alcoholic beverages, making it a perfect Dry January outing.
The details:
Rye Plaza, 4646 Mill Creek Pkwy, Kansas City, MO
Check exploretock.com/ryeplaza for upcoming class dates
Ticket price includes NA beverages
Kansas City Restaurant Week - January 10-19, 2025
Over 230 restaurants across the metro are participating in KC's premier dining event, with prix-fixe menus at $20, $40, and $55 price points. This is the 16th year, and it's bigger than ever.
You don't need a drink to enjoy a great meal. Use Restaurant Week as an excuse to try somewhere new, order the tasting menu, and focus on the food. A portion of proceeds benefits House of Hope, a local nonprofit that's distributed over 2 million meals across Missouri and Kansas.
The details:
January 10-19, 2025
Full restaurant list and reservations at kcrestaurantweek.com
Download the KC Restaurant Week app to build your wish list
Explore Downtown Parkville
While you're in Parkville for Deviant Kava, stick around and explore. Downtown Parkville is a walkable stretch of Main Street, East Street, and English Landing Center, filled with antique shops, boutiques, art galleries, and restaurants tucked into historic buildings beneath limestone cliffs.
Stop into Parkville Coffee for a solid cup. Browse the stalls at the Parkville Antique Mall. Grab lunch at Café des Amis (a French bistro upstairs with quiche, crepes, and a seasonal patio) or Stone Canyon for gourmet pizza on honey wheat crust.
If you need to move, English Landing Park sits along the Missouri River with miles of walking trails, and the Parkville Nature Sanctuary is right next door.
Mark your calendar: The Parkville Cozy, a community event on January 31st, gives you one more reason to make the trip.
Breathwork + Sound Bath at Very Well KC
If Dry January has you looking for new ways to spend a Friday night, this is worth a look. Very Well KC in Overland Park is hosting a 90-minute breathwork and sound bath session on January 30th at 6pm. Guided breathwork to release tension, followed by an immersive sound bath with singing bowls to settle your nervous system.
It's the kind of thing that sounds a little woo until you try it, and then you wonder why you spent so many Friday nights doing the opposite.
The details:
Very Well KC, 7905 Santa Fe Drive, Overland Park, KS
Friday, January 30th, 6:00–7:30pm
$65 per person
Register at verywellkc.com
Why This Matters
As more research continues to come out about just how harmful the effects of alcohol can be on our bodies, minds, and spirits, we’ve seen many friends step away from the juice.
But this isn't really about market trends. It's about having places to go and things to do that don't require alcohol to feel normal. It's about bars that treat you like a real customer whether you're drinking or not. It's about finding your people without the hangover.
Dry January is just the start. These spots are here year-round.
Ready to try something different?
Deviant Kava is open 7am-5pm daily (Thu-Sat until 10pm), closed Tuesdays. Your first shell is on us. Come by, pull up a seat, and see what you've been missing.
Bula.
Deviant Kava is located at 405 Main Street, Parkville, MO 64152. Questions? Find us @deviantkava on Instagram or visit deviantkava.com.