Tempe Bar Owners Recast Mill Avenue as 54% of U.S. Adults Still Drink
Updated
Updated · Daily Independent · Sep 20
Tempe Bar Owners Recast Mill Avenue as 54% of U.S. Adults Still Drink
1 articles · Updated · Daily Independent · Sep 20
Summary
Mill Avenue bar and restaurant owners are redesigning venues and broadening their appeal beyond heavy-drinking college crowds as fewer patrons consume alcohol.
Gallup found 54% of U.S. adults drank alcohol in 2025, down 4 percentage points from a year earlier and the lowest share recorded since the survey began in 1939.
ASU professor William Corbin said health concerns, rising costs, cannabis legalization and possibly wider GLP-1 use are all contributing to lighter drinking, especially among younger adults.
Tempe operators say the shift is pushing nightlife toward experience-driven spaces that also attract residents, convention visitors and festival crowds as the city renovates Mill Avenue.
New models are emerging alongside that transition: Social Solutions, a ready-to-drink shots brand launched in 2024, is now sold by 27 Valley retailers, including 13 in Tempe.
With US alcohol consumption at historic lows, can experience-driven venues on Tempe's Mill Avenue survive without the high profit margins of cheap drinks?
Are young adults truly abandoning alcohol, or are rising costs and ready-to-drink products simply shifting the party from downtown bars to living rooms?
As Gen Z trades cheap college bars for wellness, what will replace alcohol as the ultimate social glue for young adults?