I've talked to a few colleagues in the service industry, and we're all aware that (especially during and since COVID) our proclivity for alcohol consumption has become unsustainable. Our industry has a stereotype for bonding over drinks (and more) at a bar after the end of our respective shifts.

The general consensus is that we're not trying to go sober and take an AA route, but that we want to find new and more friends in the industry who are interested in hanging and decompressing after stressful shifts doing things that don't involve sitting at an industry 4 am bar getting drunk to forget we have to start it all again tomorrow.

I don't know what the venue or activity (for lack of a better word) would be, but I figured I would put a feeler out if this was something other people would be interested in. Especially in light of Bean Club, I realize there are a lot of fun, off the wall possibilities for service industry employees (and any industry, really) to hang out and vent without the natural toxicity of feeding our collective dependence on booze.

If you're in the industry and you want to hang with some other industry folk doing something other than a late night bar, there are a few of us who are interested in getting together and meeting new people, and I'd love to hear your ideas to make that happen, whether it's hanging at Top Golf or doing a monthly movie outing or just going to a coffee shop and having a general support group on a regular basis.