OCEAN BEACH – When Zane Curtis was still drinking, a typical day followed a familiar rhythm: two beers at lunch, four to six more to keep the buzz going before dinner, red wine with the meal — his wife nursing a “respectful glass” while he finished the bottle because, “wine expires that day” — and, finally, a two-whiskey nightcap before bed.
By Curtis’s estimate, the total came to 12 to 14 drinks a day, every day, for years.
“It wasn’t until I opened [Monday Morning] that people in recovery started using the term ‘functioning alcoholic’ with me,” Curtis, 45, said. “Talking about my journey, I realized that having 14 drinks a day while still living your life is actually being a functioning alcoholic. I never went to AA to get sober — I never went through any of that. But looking back now, I was a functioning alcoholic. I just didn’t realize it. I thought I was drinking like everybody else.”
Sobriety — and the clarity that came with it — led him to found Monday Morning Bottle Shop in late 2024 at 1854 Garnet Ave. in Pacific Beach, San Diego’s first exclusively non-alcoholic shop and lounge.
“If you had asked me three years ago about non-alcoholic beverages, I would have laughed and said it was the dumbest business idea anyone could have,” Curtis said. “I thought non-alcoholic beer was a complete waste of time, and I thought anything to do with non-alcoholic drinks was a joke.”
Marking the first anniversary of its Pacific Beach storefront, Monday Morning opened a second location on Jan. 2 at 4967 Newport Ave., inside the OB Business Center in Ocean Beach.
The shop is open Monday through Saturday from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m.
“This one’s slightly different,” Curtis said. “The concept is the same, but because it’s smaller, we’re opening the windows and serving drinks to people on the boardwalk. It’s kind of like the lounge is the beach. We’ll have seats for about nine people inside, but it won’t be the full 900-square-foot lounge as we have in Pacific Beach.”
Curtis said Monday Morning is built on four pillars: brick-and-mortar locations, distribution to bars and restaurants, a non-alcoholic services program offering custom recipes and staff training, and events.
“I always knew I wanted multiple locations, distribution, services, and events,” he said. “The response from San Diego has made everything happen much faster than I imagined.”
Non-alcoholic wines from around the world are among the shop’s best sellers. Curtis’s personal favorite is Bolle out of London, whose sparkling wine he called “a game changer.” For non-alcoholic beer, he recommended Beaglepuss, “out of Connecticut. Fantastic.” And for spirits, he singled out Kava Haven: “From a functional standpoint, it is the best thing that’s out there.
“I joke that my drinking problem materialized into sobriety for San Diego,” Curtis said. “I’ve tasted everything in the shop and can turn anything here into a drink someone wants. The shop was my solution to my own drinking problem. Many products never make it to our shelves because they don’t pass our test — if it doesn’t meet the standard, it doesn’t go out.”
Curtis said Monday Morning is redefining what non-alcoholic drinks can be, pushing beyond the sugary “mocktail” stereotype.
“There’s a term we coin around here: A mocktail is a mockery of a cocktail,” Curtis said. “That’s what most people expect — a sugary version of what a cocktail used to be. You can have cocktails without alcohol, because alcohol is the outlier.
“Even 10 years ago, non-alcoholic options were limited. Then suddenly there was a swing toward more sophisticated alternatives — brands like Seedlip and Ritual opened the door. That inspired us to say, ‘We can make non-alcoholic beer. We can make non-alcoholic spirits.’ Now we’re in this lane of uncharted territory, and we’re at the helm for San Diego, showing what non-alcoholic drinking can look like.”
Monday Morning brings Curtis’s philosophy to life with curated tastings and a lounge-style experience, reflecting San Diego’s growing “sober-curious” trend.
“I want to say thank you to San Diego for receiving me as you did,” Curtis said.
