What to know
- NRG Haus Social Wellness Club has opened in Liberty Village, offering a sober social space centered on contrast therapy, mocktails and community connection.
- The club features saunas, cold plunges, lounge areas and a zero-proof bar with curated “Up Regulate” and “Down Regulate” drinks designed for energy or relaxation.
- Founders Ivan Ho and Will Edwards say the concept responds to declining alcohol consumption and a growing demand for wellness-focused nightlife alternatives.
- On weekends, NRG Haus hosts alcohol-free Haus Parties with DJs, blending recovery, hydration and dancing into one integrated social experience.
A new wellness spa in Liberty Village has focused their space around sobriety and connection.
NRG Haus Social Wellness Club opened last Friday, and combines contrast therapy, a fully stocked, zero-proof mocktail bar, and sometimes even a dance party.
“NRG Haus, which stands for Nourish, Recharge. Gather, is a next generation social wellness club that’s built on community recovery without the need of alcohol being at the centre of it,” Founder Ivan Ho told Now Toronto. “We want to create genuine connection and just grounded, intentional conversation.”
Ho explained that every area in the space was designed to ensure nourishment, as well as the recharging and gathering of like-minded individuals.
He added that he created the space to combine a society he believed was initially separated.
“Toronto has such a great culture, right? Great wellness, great fitness, great food culture, great life culture, but my experience is that it’s fragmented,” Ho said. “You have to work out here, eat here, recover here, and then party here. Well, NRG Haus is designed to bring everything together into one place.”
Ho explained that this combination of activities have created a space with energy and accessibility.
Will Edwards, the Director of Operations for NRG, said the sobriety aspect was due to a multitude of factors.
“I have a decade of experience in hospitality, and with that, we saw a trend to the downward side of alcohol sales. We started venturing more into mocktails and even low alcohol offerings, because just people weren’t drinking how they used to,” he told Now Toronto. “The Boomers are responsible for about 23 billion, I believe, in alcohol sales. And the current generation is about 3 billion. So that’s almost a 90 per cent decline worldwide. So the trend is moving towards more healthy lifestyles.”
Edwards added that the team saw an opportunity to combine the contrast therapy with something that can rehydrate, rehydrate, replenish and help with recovery.
He also explained that the mocktail menu was curated to give attendees a certain desired effect, depending on which drink they choose.
“We have three different offerings, focusing just on opening with the Up Regulate [menu] and Down Regulate [menu],” Edwards said. “We have Up Regulate, so you can kind of get that uplifting feeling, maybe a little bit more B-12. In the Down Regulate, it’s more evening time, more L-theanine, more ashwagandha, more things for calming, getting you ready for bed and recovery. Then we have moderate, which pretty much [is] just rehydrating, just keeping you kind of even.”
Along with drinks, anyone who attends the club has access to a sauna room, a cold plunge room with four tubs with different temperatures, showers and multiple lounging areas.
These rooms contribute to the contrast therapy aspect of the club.
“The contrast therapy is going to be a nervous system reset with the hot therapy and the cold therapy,” Ho explained. “Physiologically, your body is just absolutely detoxifying.”
The club also plans to offer IV therapy. Once their appointed nurse’s schedule becomes available, anyone interested is able to sign up for vitamin injections that help with hydration along with other benefits.
“Your body’s primed for that kind of nourishment,” Edwards said. “So, getting IV that’s straight into your veins is one of the most effective ways of getting those kinds of vitamins and minerals.”
On Fridays and Saturdays, the club emphasizes their social and sobriety values, by hosting a Haus Party, where a DJ spins tracks until midnight, and patrons can enjoy alcohol free drinks as they mingle and dance.
Ho said the turnout and feedback has been overwhelming.
“Toronto needs a space like this, and that was our intention, our hope, to create something new for the city, because we have such a great culture here,” Ho said. “It’s so nice that we can tap into a creative space and get the support from a community and the public like this.”
