Nicole Pietrandrea Hough for AFTER Magazine: Welcome! I’m thrilled to chat with you today about Ocean Beach Cafe and all the things you have going on in the nonalc world!

Joshua James: I am too—I’m feeling this one. I’m here on my balcony by the beach and I have a good smile on my face. The Ocean Beach Cafe is right down there. I’m stoked to be here today!

NPH: I always enjoy talking to you about the NA world because your passion totally shines through. Why don’t we start with your mission and your “why.”

Joshua James: I hope everybody’s okay with the passion that’s about to unleash!

NPH: I hope so!

Joshua James: For me, the nonalc conversation is about this major shift that’s happening in the fabric of society. It’s all new, we’ve never been here before. It’s about people living more mindfully, more consciously, and wanting more in their life. There’s no reference point for it and it’s huge! I believe this is a conversation and a message that needs to be delivered to millions of people. People are drinking less and it means we are socializing and connecting differently and there are some really exciting [innovations and changes] going on. Getting this message to the [population at large] would change the world. That’s why I’m excited to be here.

NPH: It’s true. It is such an exciting time. How did you come to this originally? I know your life changed pretty dramatically to get here.

Joshua James: Oh yeah, alcohol was a huge part of my life. I got my first bartending gig at age 23 and I was like, “Yep! This is great!” I geeked out on liquor, beer, and wine for the next two decades. I bartended in some incredible bars and restaurants in major cities around the country. I brewed a hundred batches of beer. I managed a whole bunch of bars and wine bars and hundreds of happy hours. I loved it…until I didn’t, because it was taxing my body.

Those hangovers were just brutal after 30. I’m 43 now and mid-thirties hangovers are no joke. I started to take two weeks off from drinking at a time and then would go back to three- or four-day benders. After a while I was just like, “This has gotta stop,” and decided to take a year off—one year is where it’s at! I wanted to see what would happen in one year if I wasn’t drunk or hungover. And 11 months later, I had my Ocean Beach Cafe. I was just so productive and I enjoyed it so much.

NPH: Wait, what?! That’s incredible turnaround time!

Joshua James: It really was. This was during COVID too. As someone who’s passionate about beverage, I saw this trend coming, so I started Josh The Non Alcoholic on YouTube. I decided to make 50 videos doing No Booze Reviews and see where it took me. I was about 30 videos in and I was right here at Ocean Beach filming and walked into a deli—I was actually looking for a pack of cigarettes because I smoked at the time. The owner told me he was permanently closing in a week and he was like, “You wanna buy the place?” And I was like, “Yeah, sure how much?” He was like “$50,000 for everything, it’s all turnkey, all the supplies you need.” And I was like “You mind if I sit down?”