How late do bars stay open in your town?

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And when do they stop serving alcohol?

Bars close at 2 AM where I live, and last call is around 1:30. They're considering allowing bars to stay open an extra hour, while not changing the time they stop serving. The idea is to help reduce DWI.

So how does it work where you live? What time do bars close & how late do they serve alcohol? Do they serve food? What the transportation situation like? Just wondering.

wolfbear

Pretty much the same here. When we first went to Alaska in the early 70's though it was fun because bars didn't close. I do believe they have changed that now though.

Thorns2010

Depends on the bar here. Legally they can be open until 2am. But during the week most close at 12 or 1.

Last call can be anywhere from 30 minutes to 5 minutes before closing time.

GreekFeta

In Greece there is no "last call", we only have to wait until the last costumer leaves... I work as a bartender and last week we were waiting until 4:30 for 1 person who came at about 4:00 to have a coffee("frape", ice coffee)!!! :evil: :evil: :evil:

I remember this "last call" thing the first time I went in London, it was kind of strange for me. :roll: And the funniest thing is that we went to the bar at about 1:30(typical Greek time ) and I didn't even finish my beer!

orig_long red

4am ... last call at 3:30am .... NY, baby.

South of Seattle

Oregon - 2:30 I believe and last call at 2:00

megatron

its 2 here. they tried to pass a law for 4am but it didn't pass :evil:
during the nba finals on game day it was 3am but the magic never won so no one stayed out

dunkman

long red wrote:

4am ... last call at 3:30am .... NY, baby.

not really that impressive considering that in my hometown of 30,000 people in the bottom corner of Scotland we have places that are open till 4am.

some places in Edinburgh & Glasgow are open till later than that.

Arcticangel

In Wisconsin.... last call 1:30 close at 2 during the week. Weekends last call at 2ish out by 2:30 or so. Except it all gets confusing because we use "bar time" in my city... where all the bar clocks are set 15 minutes fast.. so who really knows what time it is.
It's probably for the best that our bars don't stay open any later, we'd all drink ourselves to death!

mca47

Like others, last call at 1:30 and closed at 2.


Can't tell you the last time I closed a bar! LOL! I'm usually home and asleep by 12:30!

Getting old...

In college closing a bar was easy. Close the bar, grab more beer (beer was sold till 2) and drink until the sun came up! hahahaha.

Oh...those were the days!

Arcticangel

mca47 wrote:

In college closing a bar was easy. Close the bar, grab more beer (beer was sold till 2) and drink until the sun came up! hahahaha.

Oh...those were the days!

Oh man, in my city, they stop selling beer and liquor at 9pm.. it requires planning ahead if you want to a-bar!!

intodeep

I live in the suburbs of atlanta and my local area just changed from a 3 am close to a 2am close. Which sucks in my opinion i was used to staying out late or coming home from a game as the DD and then going to the bar across the street from my house for a few hours.

now last call is 1:30 close at 2am :(

I don't go out in atlanta often but i think they stay open till 3am and last call is 2:30.. again not sure though as i don't make it into the city much for beers

Sian-of-the-dead

There's a pub in my city that stays open until 6am... They don't actually have to shut if they don't want to, they have a 24 hour license :?

Arcticangel

Sian-of-the-dead wrote:

There's a pub in my city that stays open until 6am... They don't actually have to shut if they don't want to, they have a 24 hour license :?

We have bars that OPEN at six am... yay third shift...

mca47

Arcticangel wrote:

Sian-of-the-dead wrote:

There's a pub in my city that stays open until 6am... They don't actually have to shut if they don't want to, they have a 24 hour license :?

We have bars that OPEN at six am... yay third shift...

Yeah, they have that in Iowa too (where I went to school).

Weren't many bars that accommodated the 3rd shifters but there were a couple.

A couple times we'd close the bars, keep drinking until 6 when the bars would re-open!


Good times!!

norm

i'm assuming it's still 1:30 lc and 2am closing but i haven't closed a bar in...geez i don't know how long :shock:


always found last call hilarious...everybody hurry up and get one more drink before you DRIVE home!! :shock:

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intodeep wrote:

I live in the suburbs of atlanta and my local area just changed from a 3 am close to a 2am close. Which sucks in my opinion i was used to staying out late or coming home from a game as the DD and then going to the bar across the street from my house for a few hours.

now last call is 1:30 close at 2am :(

I don't go out in atlanta often but i think they stay open till 3am and last call is 2:30.. again not sure though as i don't make it into the city much for beers

Why did they change it?

Wobbie

long red wrote:

4am ... last call at 3:30am .... NY, baby.

How about......NEVER?!

Jennytree

It depends on the place here. Pubs close at 11 on weekday nights, 12 or 12.30 on Saturdays and possible 10.30 on Sunday nights. Clubs are all closed at 2.30am (there used to be a few late opening ones but they all got their extended licence taken away by the Government). It made getting home much worse as now there are just thousands of people on the street who are hammered and wanna get home. Good on ye, Government!

decides2dream

dunkman wrote:

long red wrote:

4am ... last call at 3:30am .... NY, baby.

not really that impressive considering that in my hometown of 30,000 people in the bottom corner of Scotland we have places that are open till 4am.

some places in Edinburgh & Glasgow are open till later than that.

should we be impressed that scots like to drink so much?


i don't think long red was trying to be impressive...just saying how it is, and not just for NYC but most of NY - at least around the metro area...unsure about way upstate. that said, all our bars are open until 4am, not just some....and then there are after hours bars/clubs. how they go about it, idk, but i know many do exist, particularly in the city....but i believe even on the island. none of it impressive...it just is what it is. :P


last time i closed a bar at 4 am was with a couple of jammers from this board, quite a few years ago now. also closed a bar recently down in baltimore with a couple of jammers, but not really as impressive since they closed at 2.

mdigenakis

In Astoria, Queens they're open until 4:30am (Certain bars remain open until about 6am and the bar management enjoys a few rounds).

_

Jennytree wrote:

It depends on the place here. Pubs close at 11 on weekday nights, 12 or 12.30 on Saturdays and possible 10.30 on Sunday nights. Clubs are all closed at 2.30am (there used to be a few late opening ones but they all got their extended licence taken away by the Government). It made getting home much worse as now there are just thousands of people on the street who are hammered and wanna get home. Good on ye, Government!

That's kinda the situtation here - with lots of drunk people flooding out of the bard with nothing to do but drive home - which is why they're thinking of changing it so bars stay open later. So would you think that's a good idea, then?

decides2dream

scb wrote:

Jennytree wrote:

It depends on the place here. Pubs close at 11 on weekday nights, 12 or 12.30 on Saturdays and possible 10.30 on Sunday nights. Clubs are all closed at 2.30am (there used to be a few late opening ones but they all got their extended licence taken away by the Government). It made getting home much worse as now there are just thousands of people on the street who are hammered and wanna get home. Good on ye, Government!

That's kinda the situtation here - with lots of drunk people flooding out of the bard with nothing to do but drive home - which is why they're thinking of changing it so bars stay open later. So would you think that's a good idea, then?

do you think it would make a difference?
if bars stayed open later, do you think people would actually sober up before leaving...or simply drink more and still leave drunk? i honestly don't know....just curious.

personally, i think those who drink as long as they can would continue to do so, no matter....and those who chose to pay attention and concern themselves with not driving drunk, they would continue to do so, just have a bit more time to drink....so would be good for bar owners, just don't know if it would actually decrease drunk driving per se. it's an interesting question...

_

decides2dream wrote:

do you think it would make a difference?
if bars stayed open later, do you think people would actually sober up before leaving...or simply drink more and still leave drunk? i honestly don't know....just curious.

personally, i think those who drink as long as they can would continue to do so, no matter....and those who chose to pay attention and concern themselves with not driving drunk, they would continue to do so, just have a bit more time to drink....so would be good for bar owners, just don't know if it would actually decrease drunk driving per se. it's an interesting question...

Yes, I think it's a great idea. The plan is to have the bars stay open an extra hour without serving alcohol. I think it would be better if they let them stay open an extra 2-3 hours, personally, but an extra hour is better than nothing. Not only would it give people more time to sober up (although I do realize that really drunk people won't be able to become sober that quickly), but it would also decrease the urgency to leave and drive home. Instead of the streets of downtown being filled with drunk people spilling out of bars and onto the roads, getting in fights, etc., people would have more time to find a ride, call a cab (you can't get one when everyone's leaving at the same time), socialize, eat (the idea is that the bars would serve food late & people wouldn't have to drive to a 24-hour restaurant as they do now), etc. I just think everyone getting kicked out, drunk, all at once contributes to the problems. It's possible that people will still leave all at once (but hopefully less drunk), but I think fewer people stay as the night gets later.

decides2dream

scb wrote:

decides2dream wrote:

do you think it would make a difference?
if bars stayed open later, do you think people would actually sober up before leaving...or simply drink more and still leave drunk? i honestly don't know....just curious.

personally, i think those who drink as long as they can would continue to do so, no matter....and those who chose to pay attention and concern themselves with not driving drunk, they would continue to do so, just have a bit more time to drink....so would be good for bar owners, just don't know if it would actually decrease drunk driving per se. it's an interesting question...

Yes, I think it's a great idea. The plan is to have the bars stay open an extra hour without serving alcohol. I think it would be better if they let them stay open an extra 2-3 hours, personally, but an extra hour is better than nothing. Not only would it give people more time to sober up (although I do realize that really drunk people won't be able to become sober that quickly), but it would also decrease the urgency to leave and drive home. Instead of the streets of downtown being filled with drunk people spilling out of bars and onto the roads, getting in fights, etc., people would have more time to find a ride, call a cab (you can't get one when everyone's leaving at the same time), socialize, eat (the idea is that the bars would serve food late & people wouldn't have to drive to a 24-hour restaurant as they do now), etc. I just think everyone getting kicked out, drunk, all at once contributes to the problems. It's possible that people will still leave all at once (but hopefully less drunk), but I think fewer people stay as the night gets later.

i did not realize the point i bolded. THAt makes absolute, good sense...and i agree. our bars are open until 4, and idk if we have a set 'last call' time or not....so that is what i was thinking of, only. now i see the whole picture, and that's an awesome idea. really should do such EVERYwhere.

Byrnzie

decides2dream wrote:

scb wrote:

decides2dream wrote:

do you think it would make a difference?
if bars stayed open later, do you think people would actually sober up before leaving...or simply drink more and still leave drunk? i honestly don't know....just curious.

personally, i think those who drink as long as they can would continue to do so, no matter....and those who chose to pay attention and concern themselves with not driving drunk, they would continue to do so, just have a bit more time to drink....so would be good for bar owners, just don't know if it would actually decrease drunk driving per se. it's an interesting question...

Yes, I think it's a great idea. The plan is to have the bars stay open an extra hour without serving alcohol. I think it would be better if they let them stay open an extra 2-3 hours, personally, but an extra hour is better than nothing. Not only would it give people more time to sober up (although I do realize that really drunk people won't be able to become sober that quickly), but it would also decrease the urgency to leave and drive home. Instead of the streets of downtown being filled with drunk people spilling out of bars and onto the roads, getting in fights, etc., people would have more time to find a ride, call a cab (you can't get one when everyone's leaving at the same time), socialize, eat (the idea is that the bars would serve food late & people wouldn't have to drive to a 24-hour restaurant as they do now), etc. I just think everyone getting kicked out, drunk, all at once contributes to the problems. It's possible that people will still leave all at once (but hopefully less drunk), but I think fewer people stay as the night gets later.

i did not realize the point i bolded. THAt makes absolute, good sense...and i agree. our bars are open until 4, and idk if we have a set 'last call' time or not....so that is what i was thinking of, only. now i see the whole picture, and that's an awesome idea. really should do such EVERYwhere.

Why would anyone stay in the bar after the alcohol has stopped being served? If people are gonna be allowed to stay in the bar for an extra hour - whilst food is being served - then it's obvious that they'll all order a shit load of drinks just before last orders is called and then spend the next hour 'finishing their drinks'.

And even now, after last orders is called, not everyone leaves at the same time. Some have more in their glasses left to finish. People generally leave separately over the course of about half an hour or 45 minutes.

youngster

2am in Boston. Kinda lame since public transportation stops at 12:30am.

ScottBravesFan

I live in Alabama now and our bars stay open as long as someone is in there to drink. The hours of operation sign literally says until under closing. And the bars open back up at 11am. On Friday and Saturday nights I know the bars to stay open till 6 and 7 in the morning before everyone goes home.

_

Byrnzie wrote:

Why would anyone stay in the bar after the alcohol has stopped being served? If people are gonna be allowed to stay in the bar for an extra hour - whilst food is being served - then it's obvious that they'll all order a shit load of drinks just before last orders is called and then spend the next hour 'finishing their drinks'.

And even now, after last orders is called, not everyone leaves at the same time. Some have more in their glasses left to finish. People generally leave separately over the course of about half an hour or 45 minutes.

I would stay, even without alcohol, to hear the band, eat some food, sober up, hang out with my friends, arrange a ride home, etc.

Current law here is that you can't order more than two drinks at a time. Plus, everyone must be done drinking by a certain time. Even if people stay kinda late, if anyone has a drink on the table the bar can be fined. Maybe they'll keep that time in place as well as the last call for serving alcohol. That is an important distinction though; good point.

Here, people don't leave all at once at last call - but they are kicked out all at once when the bars close whether they've finished their drinks or not.

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cropduster82 wrote:

2am in Boston. Kinda lame since public transportation stops at 12:30am.

I agree that that's lame, and I think lack of available public transportation is another thing here that contributes to (or at least doesn't help) our DWI problem.

iamsam_pj

MEGATRON wrote:

its 2 here. they tried to pass a law for 4am but it didn't pass :evil:
during the nba finals on game day it was 3am but the magic never won so no one stayed out

i'm a little sad that they didn't pass it :( drunken dance party and eyespy and bbq bar are never long enough! geez i miss bbq bar...and the vegan hot dog guy. *sigh*

i'm so glad that i'll have someone to explore bars with next week here in seattle i need to explore...and figure out when the bars close!!