We were lucky to catch up with Kirstin Vracko recently and have shared our conversation below.

Kirstin, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. Let’s start with the story of your mission. What should we know?

Mission – To provide curated non-alcoholic beverages while educating consumers in a dynamic industry of evolving tastes and flavors.

My husband just reached his one year mark of sobriety and as a defacto I did too. Covid was pretty terrible for a lot of people and we, like many others, drank our way through it. This lead to a drinking schedule that really was unhealthy. We would meet at the local bar at 4:30 when he got home every day have a drink or two or three. Make our way home to throw together a dinner with the kids and not do much after because we were pretty pickled. This needed to stop.

Last May my husband, Yura, did the bravest thing, and checked himself into rehab.I was pretty angry at the time and told him that he was on his own in this and that I wasn’t going to stop drinking just because he had a problem. This was our social outlet and I couldn’t imagine life without it. Little did I know that when he decided to change his life mine was going to dramatically change as well. His program was a month long and about two weeks into the program I started seeing changes that were amazing. I didn’t see him in person, but we talked daily and had zoom calls once a week. The big thing was that he was so much clearer in thought. He also seemed so much happier and willing to face challenges with an open mind. When i would see him on zoom calls he looked like a new person. Clear eyes, clear vibrant skin, weight loss…beautiful smile on his face. I wanted that too so I stopped drinking. The change felt so good I knew I was done.

HOWEVER! I still missed the ritual of a cocktail in the evening. I came to realize it really wasn’t the alcohol I was missing, it was the normalcy of what we had come to know. So I started doing research and looking around for alternatives. I did find quite a few options on the internet, but it was so hard to find them in Seattle. I just so happened to have a girlfriend that opened a non-alcoholic bottle shop in Virginia the year before so I got in touch. As a side note, I thought she was crazy at the time and really didn’t think it was something that was viable (roll eyes now). I wanted to know what the best tasting products were that were out there and she educated me, however, as we talked I realized this was really a thing and Seattle desperately needed the alternatives she was talking about.

I grew up in Redmond, Washington in a flower shop that my grandmother started in the late 60’s, my uncle owned for a while and then my mom took it over. It was my first job and my family spent all holidays working in the shop together. Theses are memories that I cherish. Owning a small shop is something that I have always wanted, but have not been able to figure out what type. What scratched the itch and got me excited. With the non-alcoholic industry I finally found my passion.

After talking with my friend in Virginia with the non-alc bottle shop I delved in deep. I decided this is what I wanted to do and by the time Yura, my husband, got out of rehab I had a plan. I’ll never forget, I gave him about 4 days from the time he got out of rehab to present him with my plan – a man must have a few days to readjust. We went to the beach to watch the sunset and as the sun was going down I told him I was finally ready to talk about what was going on with me. I told him and he took about 5 seconds to say YES let’s go for it. After that, it was balls out. I put together a business plan, contacted manufacturers and distributors, found a space in our neighborhood and 6 months from the time Yura walked into rehab we were open for business.

It’s funny, I tell everyone that what I expected with the opening was a poky little shop that people came into to look around and be educated and I could spend lots of time doing that. What we found was the people in the community were hungry for these products just like I was. From the first day we opened our doors in November we have been BUSY. Especially back then, there were so many things going for us. We were the first in the Pacific Northwest, it was holiday season and the press was nice to us. The one overwhelming thing we heard from our customers though was that they were so grateful that we took the leap. There is not a day that goes by that we don’t hear amazing stories from our clients for all sorts of reasons. Yes, there are plenty of teetotalers out there and more and more people are choosing that path, but there are also reasons like health, pregnancy, drinking less, religious reasons, just being more mindful about what’s going into your body and consumers are tired of fizzy water and sweet sodas. They want products that are sophisticated and interesting. Items that they can pair with food or have at a bar without feeling like a five year old having a Shirley Temple (nothing wrong with a Shirley Temple, but it doesn’t always scratch that itch).

This is such a new industry. Most of the products I have in the shop come from companies that are less than three years old and new products come out daily. Without a shop like mine how are consumers supposed to educate themselves in this ever changing landscape? It’s the rare person that has that much time or interest. For that reason we offer samples of almost every one of our bottles. These are not cheap options that to purchase a product that you don’t like enough just to pour down the drain is both disappointing and creates resentment to the point that some people just give up. Our goal in the shop is to send you home with products that you love and will come back for over and over. We are here to be the educators in the non-alco world and we take it seriously. I have tried and like every product we have in the shop. I will never put a product on my shelves that I don’t like. That way it makes it so easy to sell everything…really about self preservation :)

Our mission is to make it easy for someone to walk into our shop and walk out with a product they know they like and are excited to drink as an option to alcohol.

Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.

I think I covered most of this in the long winded answer I gave before.

My husband, Yura, and I own Cheeky & Dry Non-Alcoholic Bottle Shop in Seattle Washington. We are the first dedicated non-alcoholic bottle shop in the Pacific Northwest. The closest other non-alc bottle shop is in Richland Washington (southeastern corner of the state). We offer over 250 non-alcoholic skus including non-alcoholic wine, beer, spirits, free form spirits, bitters and mixers.

We love this crazy and evolving industry and are so proud to be able to educate consumers on sophisticated non-alcoholic options. Our goal in educating consumers is to normalize and take the stigma out of zero proof options and make sure that everyone at the party or social event feels included.

What do you think helped you build your reputation within your market?

Staying true to your vision and not branching out too quickly. It’s hard not to be Doug the dog from Up. There’s always a squirrel here and a squirrel there. Stick to your plan and focus on that. People have to many ideas on what you “Should” do with your business. While I think most of them have good intentions, my least favorite word is should. Trust your gut! You are the one that started this – had the vision, did the leg work, babied it – YOU did this. Trust it.

Can you tell us about what’s worked well for you in terms of growing your clientele?

People want businesses and owners that they can trust. Never lie to them, always be open, show them yourself and they will come back. Also, people love stories. If you can be a storyteller they will come back over and over to hear another and they will bring others. Spend time with your customers – there is power in your customers saying they know the owner or spent time with the owner. It’s a status thing and it works.

Contact Info:

• Website: cheekyanddry.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/cheekyanddry/