Irene Falcone opened Australia’s first ‘alcohol-free bottle shop’, Sans Drinks. But then this Aussie non-alcoholic drinks tycoon suffered the most bitter Dry July of all

The businesswoman who opened Australia’s first ‘alcohol free bottle shop’, calling herself a ‘disruptor’ and expressing dreams of a booze-free empire has been dealt a staggering blow as her business plunges into administration. 

Irene Falcone opened her non-alcoholic bottle shop franchise ‘Sans Drinks’ at Freshwater on Sydney’s northern beaches over two years ago in May 2021, selling booze-free wines, spirits and premixed cocktails. 

She had projected that she her business would make $20million in the first five years and, in a video for Westpac about ‘brewing up success’, expressed hopes the business would ‘expand really rapidly.’ 

‘We do have plans for six more stores in Sydney and 20 across Australia in the next three years,’ Ms Falcone said. 

‘I love being a disruptor – I love disrupting. And there’s nothing more exciting than opening up a non-alcoholic bottle shop right across the road from our friends at Vintage Cellars. 

‘I was in the paper the other day and there must have been 10 or 20 comments on there saying I was going to broke in a week.’

But business has not been kind to Ms Falcone. She shut her original store – which was deliberately opposite an alcoholic bottle shop – in November. And she closed her second store at Warringah Mall last month. 

Ms Falcone told Daily Mail Australia she once had dreams of rivalling Dan Murphys but that her business took a hit after being ‘attacked’ by supermarket giants. 

She claims that her idea of alcohol free drinks was copied by major supermarkets who started selling the same non-alcoholic brands as her.

‘I was shocked at how fast Woolworths and Dan Murphys jumped on my idea. They jumped on it so fast, with so much gusto,’ she said. 

‘They went very hard after the brand that I was selling and my concept.’

Foot traffic dropped significantly.  

Ms Falcone said months such as Feb Fast and Dry July – where Australians swear off alcohol to raise money for charity – would normally see her business boom. 

In previous years, she claimed to have seen lines out the door – but this year there were troubling signs when customers significantly dropped during these periods.

‘(I thought) two peak periods of not drinking were not turning a dial for me – I need to step in now until this snowballs into something out of my control,’ she said. 

Ms Falcone sought voluntary administration – needing a ‘professional who can oversee my business’ – with the hope the restructure would let the business survive and thrive on a far smaller scale. 

‘I fought really hard. I genuinely thought I had a David and Goliath story against the big boys,’ she said, pointing to booze giants Dan Murphys and BWS.

‘I’m open to anyone coming to save me. I’m still so passionate,’ she continued. 

‘There is genuinely a place out there (for a business) that specialises in non alcoholic drinks.

‘I’m hoping that I can ride through this storm and find a niche where I can survive alongside these big boys. I’m a fighter but I need help now.

‘There’s very few people who could do it on their own. I bit off more than I can chew.’