Old City Kava Company

Old City Kava Company opened in December 2025 at 40 South 2nd Street, in the middle of one of Philadelphia's densest drinking neighbourhoods, and it is fully alcohol-free. Founded by Luca Kobza and Adam Lagner, the 1,900-square-foot room seats around sixty across a proper bar, two-tops and jewel-toned couches, with a small board-game collection and rotating contemporary art for sale on the walls. A customer quoted in the Philadelphia Inquirer described the effect exactly: it feels like a bar without really being a bar.

The hours are what make it work. Ten in the morning until midnight Sunday through Thursday, and until two in the morning on Friday and Saturday — the same closing time as the licensed bars around it. An alcohol-free venue that shuts at nine is not an alternative to a night out; one that runs to two genuinely is.

The drink list is sixteen-plus builds on kava, kratom and botanical teas. The Lemongrass Paloma pairs kava with lemongrass and guava. The Old City Red Eye is the most elaborate, layering kava and kratom with ReAnimator cold brew, oat milk creamer, agave and vanilla syrup. There is an Old Citywide — a nod to Philadelphia's ubiquitous shot-and-beer special — and a Cucumber Basil Cooler for anyone who wants something lighter.

One thing must be stated plainly, because our readers include people in recovery. Kava and kratom contain no alcohol, but both are psychoactive. Kava is a Pacific Island root that produces a mild, calming, sociable effect. Kratom is a Southeast Asian leaf whose effects are stimulant at low doses and sedative at higher ones, and which carries a genuine dependence risk — it is the more serious of the two, and it is not a neutral substitute for a drink. Anyone on medication, pregnant, managing liver health, or in recovery from substance dependence should speak to a doctor before drinking either. For people avoiding alcohol specifically, this is one of the best rooms in the city; for people avoiding everything, the zero-proof cocktail bars are the better route.