NOVEMBER 6, 2009 -- Friday and Saturday are the nights that bars and nightclubs traditionally make the most money. The work week is generally over for patrons, and those hard-working folks want to loosen up with friends, down adult beverages and take over dance floors.
But some argue that Wednesday and Sunday have become the new Friday and Saturday.
How’s that possible? It all starts with the hospitality industry crowd.
“This is a hospitality industry town,” says Mike Georgeopoulis, a partner at downtown’s recently re-opened Side Bar. “All the people who work at bars, restaurants and at hotels can’t go out on Friday and Saturday nights. They’re working. And they’re all close-knit friends—and they’re fun, good-looking people. They have money to spend and they want to go out, too.”
And for hospitality industry workers, week nights don’t precede “school days.”
In the Gaslamp Quarter, traditional “off nights” are seeing a wide array of special deals. On Mondays, Confidential Restaurant + Loft offers half-off all drinks and most menu items. La Puerta does the same thing on Tuesdays. Both draw good crowds. And in North Park, True West Tavern is packing them in on Mondays and Wednesdays.
In Pacific Beach, Bar West owns Sundays. “It’s our signature night,” says general manager Chris Martin. He says the crowd is bigger on Sundays than Fridays.
Like Side Bar’s Wednesday night, Bar West’s Sunday began as an industry night. Bartenders, waitresses and hotel workers can bring a pay stub or business card to the door and get drink specials ($5 premium cocktails) and pay no cover.
“What happens, though, is people hear that it’s a great party, and that attracts people who aren’t in the industry,” says Martin. And not just the Friday-Saturday party people—Martin says San Diego Chargers players like Steven Cooper and Shawne Merriman, and celebs such as Wilber Valderrama and Chloe and Courtney Kardashian might swing by on any given Sunday.
Side Bar’s Georgeopoulos is part of a group that’s preparing to re-open the space that housed former downtown hot spot Aubergine. He’s planning something special for Tuesday nights, when that place opens in February.
“The greatest part of the success of our Wednesday night at Side Bar is that we didn’t think it was going to work,” he says. “Our employees, especially our bar manager, came up with the idea. We went into it reluctantly—but I’m glad to see they were right.”
