A $17 mocktail? In this economy?
Plus: 🚇 Spring MBTA changes
It’s Tuesday, Boston.
🤧 Your allergies are flaring up … but it’s snowing? This can only mean one thing: It’s officially springtime in Boston! And that’s not even the worst part …
👀 What’s on tap today:
- MBTA spring changes
- Faneuil Hall’s glow up
- You got MATCHED!
Up first…
FOOD & DRINK
Boston’s in its mocktail era
Illustration: Gia Orsino
What’s on the menu? Mocktails. As alcohol sales dip, mocktails have become a surprising savior for local bars and restaurants, according to the Globe.
Here’s what to know:
🍹 Mocktails are the new cocktails. With young people drinking less than ever, bars and restaurants have been on the hunt for creative ways to make up the profits. Enter: Mocktails. Restaurants and bars increased their NA drink offerings by nearly 50% in 2025, according to SpotOn. And their overall quality has gone from “laughable” to “amazing products crafted with a lot of care,” said Dray Drinks owner Pat Dooling.
📈 They’re helping bars make ends meet. In 2025, alcohol consumption — which is responsible for nearly 25% of a restaurant’s total revenue — hit its lowest point since Prohibition. But thanks in part to mocktails, bars have seen a 4% increase in overall spending. “You worried because alcohol sales are so important, but now we’re pricing these mocktails and beers just about similar to your average cocktail or beer,” said Will Falaro, owner of Quincy’s Drifters Kitchen & Bar.
🔄 At least, the bars willing to meet the moment. “The people who … see non-alcoholic as an opportunity and not a threat, they’re the ones who are going to win in the market,” Dooling said. Since last August, Yellow Door Taqueria has transformed its alcohol-free menu from a lineup of soft drinks and faux-margaritas to fancy mocktails with hand-squeezed fruit juice. The drinks now make up 10% of their beverage profits.
💸 Naturally, higher demand = higher prices. In fact, over the past five years, mocktail prices have doubled nationwide, according to Datassential. In Boston, some are even giving cocktails a run for their money. See: The $17 “Theta Range” at Back Bay’s Hecate, or the $16 Zansae at the Seaport’s Mr. H. “That price point for a mocktail has become the standard. I think people balk at it less than they did even a year ago,” said Alcove owner Tom Schlesinger-Guidelli.
🤑 Even young customers are willing to shell out. For a generation that’s not into booze but loves a little treat, NA offerings fill a big hole in the market. 26-year-old Malden resident Olivia Sullivan thinks dropping $14 on a well-made mocktail is worth it for a night out without alcohol. “I’ve really enjoyed being able to go to restaurants and still have the cocktail experience without having to actually drink,” she said.
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CITY
Quick & dirty headlines
Image: Pat Greenhouse/The Boston Globe
💅 New season, new MBTA changes. The T just dropped a hefty list of spring service updates that’ll go into effect April 5. Here are the SparkNotes: Expect increased train frequency on the Orange and Red lines, and increased reliability on the Blue and Green lines. Changes are coming to 37(!) bus routes, including combining Routes 85 and CT2 into a *new* Route 85, and upgrading Routes 9 and SL2 to “frequent bus routes,” where they’ll run every 15 minutes (or better). Oh, and Eastie ferry service kicks off March 30. Here are all the deets.
🧊 Could ICE be coming to Logan? TBD. President Trump is threatening to send “hundreds” of ICE agents to airports across the country to arrest “all illegal immigrants” unless Democrats end the partial government shutdown … by funding ICE. The shutdown has been wreaking havoc on air travel: TSA agents who haven’t been paid since mid-February are quitting in droves, causing absolutely WILD security lines. Logan has mostly avoided the chaos (so far), and as of Monday, officials are unclear on whether ICE will be sent there specifically.
🏛️ Faneuil Hall may be in for a glow up. On Monday, Mayor Wu gathered local business leaders and city officials to pitch a new vision for the iconic building. The move is a key part of Wu’s plan to revitalize downtown. But it’ll be a tall order — as of 2021, the building needed $45 million in repairs, empty storefronts persist, and the touristy businesses aren’t exactly drawing in locals (sorry, Margaritaville!). In the meantime, plenty of folks have thrown out ideas, from a vintage store to a concert venue.
🚴 Get in loser, we’re biking the Emerald Necklace. Introducing: Pedal the Necklace, a new series of community bike rides through Boston and Brookline. Throughout the spring, there will be three group bike rides (think: 3-4 miles) with snacks and water provided. No bike? They’ll have a handful of BlueBikes to go around. Each ride will feature a different route, hitting spots like Jamaica Pond, Franklin Park, the Fens, and the Common. It’s all going down on April 18, May 2 and May 9. Register here!
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COMMUNITY ANNOUNCEMENT
Enter your “Bridgerton” era
The Handel + Haydn Society is performing Handel’s Water Music on April 10 and 12 at Symphony Hall as part of its 2026 Pride celebrations. You can snag $30 tickets with code WELCOMEH2.
ONE LAST THING
You got MATCHED!
Illustration: Gia Orsino
If you thought college admissions were stressful, wait ‘til you hear about Match Day.
Every year on the third Friday of March, tens of thousands of medical students across the country find out where and how they’ll be spending the next several years of their lives in residency programs.
While grads can apply to and rank specific hospitals and specialties, it’s ultimately up to an algorithm to match them, so nothing is guaranteed. As you can imagine, things get pretty emotional, both good, and … not so good.
135 BU students and their families gathered to receive the news together last Friday. Some hoped for a program in a certain state, others were gunning for a specialty close to their heart. Jeet Kothari got both — a pediatric residency in Michigan, allowing him to give back to the community he’s from, inspired by the doctors who cared for his little sister, who has cerebral palsy. AWWWW.
— Written by Gia Orsino and Emily Schario
🧑⚕️ Thanks for reading! Our anxiety could NEVER … but then again, these are future doctors we’re talking about!
💜 Special shoutout to today’s sponsor, Xfinity Center Premium Experiences, for supporting local journalism and making live music actually effortless.
🧀 The results are in: 43% of B-Siders aren’t into the cottage cheese craze. One reader said: “It will never live up to ricotta. As Regina George would say, ‘stop trying to make fetch happen!’” As an Italian, Gia agrees.
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