Gen Z blamed for causing irreparable damage to restaurants with new behaviour

Gen Z are known for shaking things up when it comes to how they live their lives compared to their Millennial, Gen X or even Baby Boomer predecessors.

Whether it's their fashion, politics or even their food and drink habits, it's clear those born between 1997 to 2012 aren't afraid of doing things a little differently.

And that's exactly the case when it comes to their attitudes surrounding alcohol, with Gen Z now being blamed for causing irreparable damage to eateries due to their very specific behaviour when it comes to boozing.

Now, despite many of us Gen Z members being of alcohol-drinking age, a whole load of us have been increasingly trying out totally sober or 'sober curious' lifestyles, and it's this exact change in habit which has apparently directly harmed the profit margins of restaurant owners.

David Chang, who founded the Asian American restaurant group Momofuku, has shared his thoughts on the cultural shift, dubbing the notable reduction in alcohol consumption a 'real existential threat' to the industry as a whole.

Michelin-star chef David Chang has explained how Gen Z's drinking habits are impacting the restaurant industry (Getty Stock Image)

"Kids just don't drink anymore!" the acclaimed Michelin-star chef said in an interview on the TBPN podcast, before joking: "They are never going to know what it is like to wake up at 3 pm in the afternoon and be like: 'S***, I left my credit card in that bar.'"

Many restaurants make a pretty hefty chunk of profits from alcohol sales, with about 70 per cent of the money coming in from food sales, and 30 per cent from beverages.

"Something is going to give when you are down 18% on beverage sales," Chang warned.

And it's not just Chang as his comments are backed up by cold, hard research.

According to a Gallup survey carried out earlier this year in August, the number of Gen Z young adults drinking alcohol has taken a nosedive, with the number reducing by nearly 10 per cent in the last few years.

The Gallup poll found that just 54% of US adults reported they consume alcohol, which is the lowest percentage in the survey's 90-year history.

Among young adults surveyed, alcohol consumption has already been on the decline for the past decade, but the trend has accelerated in recent years, with the rate dropping from 59% in 2023 to 50% today in 2025.

The number of Gen Z young adults drinking alcohol has taken a nosedive in recent years (Rene Johnston / Contributor / via Getty)

"Part of the reason for the decline in drinking is that Gen Z appear to be more cautious than older generations, both in terms of their health and how their peers perceive them," the BBC reports.

Amy Pennay, a senior research fellow at the Centre for Alcohol Policy Research at La Trobe University, Melbourne, told the outlet: "[The decrease in alcohol consumption is] certainly not happening because of alcohol policy, because all risky practices are going down – drug use, unprotected sex, risky behaviours [like smoking, crime and driving hazardously] – young people are more risk averse in general."

According to TIME Magazine, National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism representative George F. Koob said: "It is becoming clear that, for whatever reasons, today’s younger generations are just less interested in alcohol and are more likely than older generations to see it as risky for their health and to participate in periods of abstinence like Dry January."

Koob added: "It makes sense that older drinkers are drinking more, given that Baby Boomers were steeped in a heavier drinking culture."

You can't ignore the cost-of-living crisis, too, which is causing people to cut back on spending across the board.

Pair all that with the rising costs of food and drink, then it's almost no wonder fewer youngsters are forking out for pricey cocktails.

Chang himself seems stumped on how to navigate the situation, resolving: "I don't have an answer. Food needs to get more expensive, but that comes across as terrible… because it's already expensive."