After 7 Eventful Years, Starbucks Just Got Some Very Good News About ‘Drunk Wednesday’

The more things stay the same, the more they change. Case in point: Wednesday.

I wrote here a few years back about a thing called ‘Drunk Wednesday,’ or Drunksgiving—the night before Thanksgiving, rumored to be one of the busiest nights of the year at bars and pubs.

I’ve long surmised this was because so many young adults wind up reuniting with long-ago friends, as either they or the friends return to their hometowns for the holiday.

They say all writing is autobiographical, and when I was in my 20s and 30s anyway, the idea rang true. Even if my friends and I weren’t exactly overdoing it, there were a few watering holes back in my hometown we knew to go to when we came back, precisely because everyone else would be there as well.

In 2018 anyway, a restaurant management platform compiled data showing bars sold 63% more liquor on Drunk Wednesday than they did on Regular Tuesday.

I made a few jokes about it. I suggested bars put away their good glassware and go with plastic.

But, a new survey suggests something might have changed—and it turns out it’s pretty good news for Starbucks.

According to a Morning Consult survey commissioned by Starbucks, 70% of Gen Z consumers say they plan to visit a coffee shop during Thanksgiving week, while only 33% say they’ll go to a bar or pub. It turns out that’s part of a broader trend:

• A 2023 Gallup survey found that the share of adults under age 35 who say they ever drink dropped ten percentage points in two decades, to 62% in 2021-2023 from 72% in 2001-2003.
• A 2020 study found that 28% of college students in 2018 reported that they abstained from alcohol entirely, compared to 20% in 2002. Meanwhile, Gen Zers drink 20% less than millennials on average, who also drink less than older generations.
• And, nearly two in three Gen Zers (65%) plan to drink less in 2025, and 39% plan to adopt a dry lifestyle not just during January, but during all of 2025.

There’s probably no single reason why Gen Z drinks less, but almost 86% of Gen Z believe their mental health is as significant as their physical health when considering drinking alcohol.

They’re more likely to see alcohol as something that interferes with wellness rather than enhances it.

Socializing within this generation has changed from in-person to online. When you’re connecting with friends on Discord or FaceTime, alcohol isn’t part of the equation.

Then there’s the pandemic effect. A Carnegie Mellon study showed adults under 30 consuming 12.8 fewer alcoholic drinks a month after COVID-19 than before.

Which brings us back to Starbucks—literally.

Of course, Starbucks is happy to tout statistics showing that a majority of Americans plan to stop by a coffee shop Thanksgiving week, and even better for the ubiquitous chain, 47% of Gen Z consumers said they intend to sit down and savor the moment.

Maybe they’re using coffee shops the way previous generations used bars—as a third place to connect.

One Starbucks manager in New York told the company she’s seen the shift firsthand. “I can feel the socialness coming back,” she said, noting that the pandemic changed how people use coffee shops as gathering places.

So, seven years after I first wrote about Drunk Wednesday, is the whole thing dead?

I mean, it is for me, but I’m not getting any younger. Still, bar tabs are still strong at events attended by older fans.

Millennials, Gen X, and Boomers haven’t stopped drinking. But the youngest generation of adults are increasingly opting out.

For Starbucks, or anyone else that’s trying to bet on how consumers will behave and what they’ll prefer in future, that’s very good news indeed.

For bars? Well, they might want to start thinking about adding some really good coffee to the menu.

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