Eat Street recently gained a brunch spot by day/sober bar by evening called Wishi Co., located at the former 8 Street Nourish location. Vincent Vo, one of the cafe’s owners, says he wanted to bring a sober bar option to the area after the rise in popularity of mocktails following the pandemic. “The number of mocktails is going up because people care more about their health,” Vo says. “Some people, like my friends say, ‘But I still like liquor,’ and I say, ‘Well, it’s NA, but you can still taste the same thing.’”
Vo, who also manages Em Que Viet in St. Paul and Que Viet in Minneapolis, said the cuisine of his home country, Vietnam, inspires many of Wishi Co.’s mocktails.
Take the Canh Chua Cooler, for example, which is inspired by Canh Chua, a sweet and sour vegetable-fish soup. The cooler blends tamarind, pineapple, and hints of lemon to achieve the soup’s well-known tartness. The BBH Sparkler and Pho Spice Sour mocktails are also inspired by classic Vietnamese soups. “I want to bring something that everyone can drink,” Vo says. “There’s a kind of fusion of Vietnamese food [flavors] into the drinks.” Vo was also influenced by Vietnam’s scenery and countryside—take the Da Lat Empress mocktail, which pairs nonalcoholic gin with strawberry and hints of orange to create a bright floral flavor that reflects Da Lat city’s flowery spring and surrounding mountains.
For early birds, Wishi Co. also offers plenty of caffeinated options, including a range of matcha flavors (think peach, blueberry, strawberry, and pistachio, a growing favorite for many customers). Vo’s matcha is imported from Vietnam and has a unique, floral flavor compared to the matcha that’s grown and processed in Japan or China…