California · Axios
Phone-free bars and restaurants on the rise across the U.S.
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Phone-free bars and restaurants are emerging across the U.S. as people seek to disconnect from screens and devices.
Key facts
- Consumer Affairs data from 2024 show Americans typically check their phones 144 times per day and spend about 4.5 hours on their devices
- At least 11 states now have individual restaurants or bars with some form of phone restriction or a digital-detox incentive
- Phone-free bars and restaurants are emerging across the U.S. as people seek to disconnect from screens and devices
- Mike Salzarulo, co-owner of Charlotte, N.C., cocktail bar Antagonist, told Axios that the business's policy of locking customers' phones away for two hours was to "build a place that kind of forces
Summary
This trend is emerging amid a societal shift, with several countries imposing social media bans for children and teens, some U.S. states prohibiting phone use at school, and more live events restricting phones. Studies and other evidence showing the negative impact that smartphones and social media have on learning, information retention, socialization, and self-esteem have helped to prompt the shift, Kara Nielsen, a San Francisco Bay Area-based food trend expert. Consumer Affairs data from 2024 show Americans typically check their phones 144 times per day and spend about 4.5 hours on their devices. Gen Z is among those embracing analog in an effort to unplug, with 63% of the generation saying in a December 2025 ThriftBooks-commissioned survey from Talker Research that they intentionally disconnect from devices.