Moved to an area with a small tight knit community, how do I join in and make friends?

Hello everyone, so I recently moved to a new country into a building in an area, which has a few residential buildings in a circle and a bar in the centre serving these buildings

a lot of people usually gather in small groups at the bar on weekends, and when I pass by I always wish I knew some of them/ literally any one to be able to join in … any ideas on how to join in and make friends with them without making it awkward?

Hanging out alone with a drink around everyone else who are in groups seem weird and awkward, like what would be the next step?

One of the tricks I always hear is, go up to a group and ask for a lighter (to smoke) and then spark a conversation, but unfortunately I don’t smoke 🙁 – should I?

Any ideas/tips would be highly appreciated!