Dr. David Wallace is at the helm of Dream House Lounge, an oxygen bar and wellness lounge at 401 Baronne St. that also offers zero-proof cocktails for the sober and sober-casual.
Wallace is a former Dean of Relay Graduate School of Education- Louisiana, and founder of Awakening Minds, a consulting agency that helps organizations develop a conscious culture. He has also worked as an elementary and middle-school teacher.
In April, he published his book, Awakening Minds: 10 Life Lessons for a Conscious Culture through Leaping Hare Press., a self-help guide of life lessons that Wallace has learned throughout his career.
The inspiration for Dream House Lounge came to Wallace in a dream. As a practitioner of Ifá, an African faith, Wallace uses prayer and meditation to receive messages about how he should live his life.
“I had a dream about Dream House Lounge and I knew that it would be a space for people to manifest their dreams,” he said. “The original plan didn’t necessarily include the ‘sober’ aspect of it, but I knew that I wanted it to be an oxygen bar.”
Wallace’s original plan was to offer wine-based cocktails and Black-owned spirits. However, he decided that combining a regular bar with the oxygen concept was somewhat of a conflict of interest. He opted to offer zero-proof cocktails instead.
He said, “On one hand I’m promoting a healthy lifestyle with the oxygen bar and alcohol isn’t the healthiest thing to consume. I prayed about it and came up with an idea of offering what I call conscious cocktails. I wanted to offer drinks made from different botanicals and elixirs to replace traditional spirits.”
During Wallace’s research into non-alcoholic spirits, he began examining his own relationship with alcohol. Throughout the process, he drank less and gravitated more toward conscious cocktails.
“I didn’t see a space in New Orleans that was dedicated to this type of service, so I wanted to create it,” he said. “I worked on refining the concept.”
Wallace calls Dream House Lounge an oxygen bar and wellness lounge rather than a “sober bar.” Although Dream House Lounge offers zero-proof cocktails, he wants to make it clear that the Lounge welcomes everyone, including the sober, sober-curious, and those who would like to participate in an activity that doesn’t revolve around alcohol.
More than a bar, Dream House Lounge is a social hub.
Wallace said, “I want all people to be able to think about soul-care when they come to Dream House. We offer drinks made with botanicals that are good for the body and we offer a place where people can come and socialize.”
In the spirit of socialization, the seating here is set up in semi-circles to encourage conversation, a nod to Wallace’s African ancestors who sat in circles for community building and educational purposes.
The zero-proof spirits here are brewed the same way as traditional spirits minus the alcohol. Branded products include Ritual and Mocktail Club, and drinks are mixed and shaken just as they would be at a standard bar. Dreamy Elixirs, the name of the Lounge’s hand-made cocktails, range from about $10 to $12, and drinks are made with fresh-squeezed juices.
The Lounge currently serves healthy small bites like dried fruit, and Wallace plans to serve food and host “Taste of a Dream” nights where local chefs will be invited to prepare tapas-style plates.
“I want Dream House Lounge to be a space where people can build a community,” he said. “I want to invite people to come and enjoy food and have chefs explain what inspired the meal and what ‘Taste of a Dream’ means to them.”
Dream House Lounge is open Wednesday through Friday, 4:00 p.m. to 10:00 p.m., Saturday, 12:00 p.m. to 10:00 p.m., and Sunday, 12:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m.
