THE FIRST KAVA BAR IN NEW ENGLAND

Root Awakening opened on Main Street in Nashua in 2022 as the first kava bar in all of New England. Owner Greg Gately fought to bring Polynesian kava culture to New Hampshire because he believed in one simple thing: people deserve a real night out that doesn't revolve around alcohol.

It looks and feels like a bar — long wood counter, low lighting, bartenders who know the regulars by name — except everything poured is alcohol-free. Traditional kava, kava cocktails, teas and other botanical drinks, served in a room built for hanging around.

That passion is still what runs the place. Greg is often behind the bar himself, and the room fills nightly with people in recovery, people who just don't drink, dart leagues and trivia diehards — all sharing the same space.