Did it really used to be common for guys to go to a bar every night like in Cheers or The Simpsons?
Did it really used to be common for guys to go to a bar every night like in Cheers or The Simpsons?
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Idk how common it was but it's a good example of a "third place". A spot that isn't work or home where you can meet and socialize
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I wish we could have third places that don’t involve fucking up your body.
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Even with NA (low/non-alcoholic) beverages, it'd be nice to have third places that don't come with an obligation to spend money.
To be clear, I'm not asking for places that ban spending money, but there are third places like parks (eg NYC Central Park) that are destinations in their own right, but one can also spend money there, such as buying stuff and having a picnic on the grass, or bringing board games and meeting up with friends. Or strolling the grounds astride rental e-bikes. Or free yoga.
Where there's an open space, people make use of it. But we don't really have much of that in the USA, that isn't tied up as a parking lot, an open-space preserve (where people shouldn't tred upon to protect wildlife), or are beyond reasonable distances (eg BLM land in the middle of Nevada).
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Honestly I'm cool with fucking up my body to have a good time, I just wish it didn't cost me $200 for the privelege.
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Check your library. They do all kinds of activities.
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Your local gym? CrossFit box? Football/soccer club? Community centre? Library? Outdoor? Scouts?
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Hacker/makerspace.Coffee/tea shops. Library. Community Center.
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Public libraries are great third places. Larger ones often have classes, groups, and social clubs. And you'll meet like-minded people just by becoming a regular.
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For the non religious, that's where clubs like the Shriners, or Lions come in. Social clubs that don't revolve entirely around alcohol
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It used to be the Mall. It was always a place to hang out, meet friends, window shop, eat, see a movie, etc.
When I was a kid, the local mall even included the local library. I thought that was a great idea, but I never saw another mall with a library.
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May I introduce you to your lord and savior Jesus Christ? He’s got a third place for you.
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I’ve never heard of a concept of a third place. Seems like everybody should have one.
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It still is. There's bars like that in every town.
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Yes, my dad was one of them. I haven't gone to a bar for years but it used to be most smaller bars had at least a few regulars that basically lived there. I remember one old vet that used to show up every day as soon as the bar would open for his daily fix... It got to the point the bar refused to serve him, so he would try and get unsuspecting customers to buy them for him. (This was in the 70's and 80's, there were (or at least seemed to be) a lot more alcoholics back then.)
Also booze used to be a LOT cheaper, so it wasn't nearly as expensive as it would be now.
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I remember stories from my dad about a guy he knew where the bar maid would have to help him with the first drink in the morning because his hands would shake so much.
The romantic history of the happy drunk is almost entirely fictional. I say almost because I know a few people who are able to take it or leave it, but for the most part the people I know/knew who were drinking either in bunches or daily end up complete and unabridged alcoholics, whether they are active and in serious trouble or have sought help and straightened up, but cannot touch it.
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I'm one of the rare happy drunks. Don't drink often, I'm an extremely quiet person usually. But get a few beers in me and my wife says I won't shut up but she also says it's the only time she gets to talk to me. I don't know why, I can't hold a conversation when I'm sober. Never know what to talk about, my work life is boring so nothing interesting ever happens.
When I have a few, it's likeeverything just starts coming out.
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Yeah, I wouldn't want to spend that much everyday, I'll just have some beers at home for 1/5th the price
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The extra price was so they weren't drinking alone, or to avoid going home.
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I've never been a big drinker but I have a few places around me where beer is $3. And the actual place my wife and I go if we do feel like drinking is our local VFW. I can get a 24 oz frosty on tap for like 2.50. and a jack and coke for 3. Last time we went out drinking spent like $30 total and we were both drunk
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Damn - I'm in Seattle and it's rare to find $6 drafts anymore.
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I remember one old vet that used to show up every day as soon as the bar would open for his daily fix... It got to the point the bar refused to serve him
So he’d go to this bar during business hours to drink. And this went on to the point where they stopped serving him? Something is missing from the middle of this story…
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Sorry If I didn't explain that right.. the guy was drinking non-stop every single day, to the point you could physically see his liver was shutting down because of his yellowish color. So the bar didn't have much choice and had to cut him off. He was an awesome old guy so no-one wanted to boot him, but if he drinks himself to death the bar would be potentially liable for still serving him so they chose to stop.
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Dude managed to get a parenthetical inside a parenthetical, respect
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Yes, but bear in mind a lot of factory, construction, and industrial jobs are 7-3 or 8-4. So a working class laborer could go catch a happy hour with the coworkers or neighbors and be home by 5.
Also in the age of single income households men were often not expected to pull as much weight at home.
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Did this (Mon-Sat) together with a few friends and colleagues in my late 20s. We were regulars to the point of the cook always making something off menu more fitting for regular dinner, as well as no need to settle the bill every night. Once a month everything was tallied up.
Good times. Had to stop though since I found myself going through the fridge on a Sunday once looking for some alcohol.
edit: This was the tail end of the 90s btw, small town in Sweden
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Had to stop though since I found myself going through the fridge on a Sunday once looking for some alcohol.
I had a similar experience except I'd open the fridge before work and instinctively grab a beer or start to grab one before I realized I was just there for creamer.
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I live in a tiny NE college town where that happens but for breakfast at a dive coffeeshop. It's loud, packed, the food and coffee are meh, but every single day I can walk in there and see 5-10 locals eating breakfast and shooting the breeze. There's cliques who always sit together, and social butterflies who pick a different group every morning. A bottomless mug of coffee is $3, so folks will just come and hang out from like 8-11am. It's great fun.
There's a brewery next door that's often busy at night but generally it's a quiet town so folks are home chilling after dinner.
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That sounds awesome.
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It really is the dream
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It used to be a place for the working stiffs to gather and was priced accordingly. Nowadays capitalization has been overused to the point where a lot of businesses are pricing themselves out of customers.
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An average draft goes for $7-11 dollars in my city. And the $11 drafts are served in a smaller chalice than the cheaper stuff. I usually buy a 12 pack of beer for $24 from the store and get drunk at home when I can afford it.
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My uncle was a factory worker and a daily regular at his favorite local bar for more than 30 years.
My mom wouldn't allow me to go inside the bar (because drinking alcohol is a sin, you know). But in the '80s and '90s, before cell phones, I knew exactly where to find him after school if I needed anything.
Unfortunately, 30+ years of excessive drinking caused a lot of really serious health problems that caught up to him when he was in his 50s. The owners and staff sent a huge flower arrangement and all came to his funeral.
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A sin? Lol what? Jesus turned water into wine, the fucking madlad!
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Yeah, I used to finish work, walk down to my local pub, have dinner and a few drinks then go home to bed, good meals, good people to talk to, I kinda miss it but I don't drink anymore.
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I’m an outlier because I live in a walkable neighborhood in a city. But I have 10 breweries within walking distance around my house. I know the owners by name for 2 of these breweries and the bartenders know me for 4 of them. I think they all know my dog.
I usually go with my wife and/or girlfriend about 2-4 days a week, but it’s still very much a hang out.
We’re also Friday regulars to a semi-close bar every Friday because I won a free beer/week for a year in a $25 raffle!
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I usually go with my wife and/or girlfriend
Ok, sorry. I just wanted to post that finally. Also, I was remembering that one clip that always gets put in compilations about that guy and his wife and her bf. Anyway, carry on.
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You have a wife and a girlfriend AND you can afford to go to a bar every night? Must be nice to be in the 1%! 😉
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Tech jobs in Seattle go crazy! We make ends meet since we all have some kinda job. Not too crazy since we’re still renting. But eventually we want to be permanent in. Seattle!
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If they all have jobs, they can split fixed costs liking housing or a shared car across 3 people instead of 2. Or more - the OC only mentioned a wide and gf, but there could be more people in the polycule.
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I watched a documentary about "bar culture" in the 60es and 70es where i live. Shit was pretty wild. Dudes talked about going to the bar like people talk about video games these days. "Oh yeah, on a good week i'm here 40 to 48 hours" what doesn your wife think about it? "She's not excited, but you know..."
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I saw an old video about when they made it illegal to drink and drive and dudes are like “they’re taking away my freedom! It’s my business if I wanna go to the bar and grab a couple beers after work before heading home! Im not hurting anyone!” It’s crazy how casual getting nightly drunk and driving home was in those days
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I don't think it's crazy at all. The US in particular still has basically no real mass transit and bars everywhere. Everyone knows there is still drinking and driving going on. Certainly not all those people are calling ubers.
Edit- crazy to believe. Certainly is crazy to do.
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Five and drive, baby
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My dad's friends often claim that's what destroys restaurants. You can't even go and get hammered and drive home.
Yeah, not drinking would be pure insanity, i could never. Imagine spending time with friends sober.
It is kinda crazy how different the times were. In the same documentary, they also touched on immigrants and how they also like to hang out in bars. One guy casually said something like: well i some people don't hate these Spaniards, and some people just want them dead.
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Still do?
I don't drink anymore, but yeah. Those people you see in dive bars are often daily customers.
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It depends on (sub)culture, but mainly yes.
Bars were often cheap too, so going to the bar multiple times per week was not expensive. The reason these bars were cheap:
- Outside of touristic areas ground is cheap.
- If the local government allows it, the bar can on the owners property.
- The owner and customers were often friends, so friend pricing would be standard.
- Health and safety regulations used to be less strict. Allowing for lower prices.
- The bar was open whenever the owner wanted, instead of on a fixed schedule, making it more easy to combine with a second job.
- Bars rarely had a menu, they just sold whatever they had in stock. Today customers would be upset if an item on the menu was not in stock.
Also,
- Parks used to be less safe and less well maintained, so buying drinks in the supermarket and consuming them in the park wasn't really an option.
- The internet wasn't a thing, so people who wanted to spend the evening gaming had to do so in the bar.
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- Parks used to be less safe and less well maintained, so buying drinks in the supermarket and consuming them in the park wasn't really an option.
Found the non-American
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Some of the older old dudes I've worked with used to. I actually convinced one of the avocado toast whiners he was wrong based on bar cost now and back in his day
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Umm, I'm in my 40s and I do... 😬
Granted it isn't like Cheers, I just need the change of scenery since I work from home 10-20 hours a day.
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20 hours a day? Bro...
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Trying to get a company off the ground so it's all hours all the time right now, fortunately/unfortunately.
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I work from home 10-20 hours a day.
That's fair. Drinking at one's workplace is usually frowned upon.
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usually, upper management go for their hour and a half long lunches and come back blitzed is not uncommon, at least in the workplaces I’ve been.
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It's fairly common right now, too.
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How can anyone afford to go to bars anymore? Drinking at home is much cheaper.
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Depends what your drinking and how fast. You find places that have cheaper drinks tend to be the ones where there's more regulars
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any area with bars has a cheaper bar usually, my main college bar was hella cheap, always had a deal everyday, most nearby bars had deals once a week or specials for locally brewed stuff that was a lot cheaper than buying it elsewhere. I could black out easily off 50$ vs sf which is like 2 one shot drinks maybe for that amount
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Get buzzed first then go out and coast with a few drinks
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Gotta find the dive bars with the specials on shitty liquor and beer
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Man, I have no fucking idea. I can't afford to rent my own apartment without roommates to help, and I have worked with dudes that made $3/hour less than me who owned sizeable middle-class houses somehow. 😬
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It's technically considered depression & alcoholism to drink alone in one's house.
Most people use alcohol to unwind & socialize so they do it in social environments.
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Yes, even in countries like Austria. Saddest thing was that many men that were 'great pals' while drinking turned into abusers when coming home, making their families co-dependents and their lives hell.
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Yup, it used to be a lot more common, Not Just Bikes has a great video on this subject too and how our car dependency made most of them disappear:
The Great Places Erased by Suburbia (the Third Place)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VvdQ381K5xg
non YT https://yewtu.be/watch?v=VvdQ381K5xg-
For folks who like this theme, there is https://lemmy.world/c/fuckcars
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Remember, no internet before this millenium, 3 to 7 television channels before cable, no TV before the 50s...
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Yeah. My husband went out to the pub 6 nights a week. He's no longer drinking - quit last year - finally! (I quit in 2009)
Seriously, alcohol is overrated.
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Pub culture is definitely a thing in the UK though and I wish we had some of these neighborhood meeting places in the US too. They aren't necessarily a place to get shitfaced but to get a simple meal and a beer.
Fraternal/Sororal organizations used to be a big thing up to the 60s with the Elks clubs, Odd Fellows, Shriners, etc. We've lost a lot of that community glue.
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Car centric urban design and pub culture are incompatible.
though alcoholism is bad, the lack of thirst spaces is a much bigger problem
*Third spaces
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A lot of blue collar workers went straight to the bar after work 3-4 days a week.
I did sheet metal back in the 90's for a year. Typical day... start at 6, off at 2:30, bar from 3-5. Pretty much everyday.
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I was raised in a bar. My mother owned it for 40 years. Yes, same customers every day. They were all alcoholist but some of them stopped functioning. My mother Fed them, did their taxes, cut their hair. It's terrible and sad. The functioning alcoholists had a family to turn home to. I used to be an alcoholist until 10 years ago. My wife had to make me realise that drinking every day, even just one beer a day, is alcoholism.
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Used to be? This is still common in many industries and localities.
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The divide between cultures and populations becomes highly apparent on sites like this, which attract a very select group.
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Yeah, from a lot of the responses I'm seeing my ignorance on the matter. I'm in a big city so it's probably very different.
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I worked in a bar for a few years and I saw the same people everyday. They would even come in on holidays if the bar was open. Some of them would blow their whole paycheck, I always thought it was kinda sad.
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I had the same experience and did feel badly for them as well. For a lot of them (especially middle aged men in my experience), they just seemed very lonely. I miss a lot of those regulars, they were generally good people.
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In the show Clarkson's Farm, Jeremy Clarkson is looking around, trying to buy a pub. At one point they talk about wanting to have a pub with a little grocery store attached. Clarkson's girlfriend explained why that was common at one point in Ireland. It was because in the past men would get paid, go immediately to the pub, and drink until their paycheck was gone. If there was a shop attached to the pub, they could hand in an order at the shop before they started drinking. And then, even if they drank away the rest of their paycheck, they'd still be handed a bag of groceries before they were kicked out and had to stumble home.
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Still do.
I've been alcohol free since 7th April 2023 but it's a stop on the way home to see mates that don't game online.
UK pub that's part of the community. We organise canal cleans / litter picks / quiz nights / charity events etc..
Pubs can be good and you don't HAVE to drink booze. Bars now..... They are a different story I feel.
On a side note I feel the ability to 'legally' drink (without a meal) from the age of 18 stops a lot of the idiotic drinking stuff I always hear about from over the pond.
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Yes, and it's still pretty common.
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beer used to be cheaper
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And bars/pubs used to be fine with the regulars hanging out in the corner, only buying a pitcher of beer each per night.
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I live in England, but maybe twenty years ago I'd go to my regular pub most days, have a couple of pints and maybe some food, socialise with people I'd got to know there.
Obviously that doesn't happen anymore, it's way too expensive now. Going to the pub or out for a meal is a rare treat these days.
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There's a reason prohibition happened. Alcohol consumption back then was 3x higher than it is now, so it was not uncommon for men to get off work, go blow their paychecks at the bar, then go home and beat their wives.
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Back in the day, they'd be getting drunk AT work.
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Then they'd go to the bar and get wrecked.
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I don’t know about every night but I know plenty of dudes who have a watering hole they go to weekly.
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For référence, there is an ancient in my village of 300 inhabitants that isbsaying that in the 60's, there were SIX bars in the village. For 300 inhabitants.
So I guess so.
Also for reference we only have a bread machine now, no shops of any kind.
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Worked in a pub in the UK.
Yes, we had regulars. They'd be there nearly every night after work for a quick pint before heading home.
Very few of them would stay for more than one or two though
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Yes. In my fathers time men would go there often for lunch and after work. I think some went home and then went over for an hour or two. Later it was still common but someone who did it all the time would be called a barfly but almost everyone did like friday night and pretty often thursday or saturday. Its diminished since and more and more bars have to sorta be restaurants or dance clubs or band venues.
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A lot of bars would have tons of cash on Fridays and bartenders would cash paychecks. Customers would pay off the tab and start a new one. Idk how common it is anymore. Most jobs I’ve had for a while will give a paper check if they have to, but discourage it as much as possible.
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Yes, and in some places especially small towns, it is for some people, since it's the main hangout spot (3rd place) in town.
Though I don't think young people do that as much, "regulars" tend to mean 1-3 times a week. My university had a bar that had a "ritual" where Friday afternoons it would be a completely full house.
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I do. Most other people that come here are regulars also.
Not much else out there for community.
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Yes, and it still is to certain folk.
I think with sugar and alcohol taxes, a lot of establishments had to change to survive.
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I mean, people still do that.
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Alcoholics, sure
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Some. Not all.
Not all pubs are drink first. Food and socialising are also important things.
In rural areas it might be the only 'communal' space.
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Europeans are pretty active on this mater. I'm always amaze by how much people go to bistro bin France and Belgium. I think this applies to pub in England too. In Quebec, I think it was morr common in the 60, 70 and earlier and fade away with the importance TV and later the Internet took in people's home. Now when I go back to some small cities that use to have pretty active downtowns in the late 90s and 200Os, it's absolutely dead. The only bars that survive have a crowd of people in their 40s and more. It use be full of young people, but now I guess they just "flix and chill'...
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These neighborhood bars in Boston were real. I had a GF who worked in a university lab where they would go to a bar after hours and she would bring me along. It was an old school Irish bar (even had pics of Sinn Féin members on the walls). I kept going after we broke up and ended up dating one of the woman who bartended. She would pass me free drinks. I was always a light drinker though, I just nursed them. This was mostly in my 20s. I did visit another Irish pub after night class in a different part of the city and the guy working there remembered what my usual meal order was. lol
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If I could afford it I would. Better than going home and sitting on my ass playing video games or whatever. Bars around here are too expensive though (just like everything else). I could drink for a month at home on what I spend for 1 trip to the bar.
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I walk by some neighborhood bars, that are cheap and still some people go everyday like the Simpsons.
Videogames are better. I've come to recognize some of the "local drunks" that are there every day, they do be like Barney from the Simpsons. It seems a little depressing looking at them destroying themselves with booze.
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Strong disagree.
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yeah same. also i don't drink alcohol anymore but it would be nice to have more places to hang out.
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Same
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Before the pandemic, I was watching Drag Race at the gay bar and a not-so-gay bar, so yes.
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At the same time?!? Were the bars across the street from each other and you had two different friend groups in both, so you had to make up excuses, change your outfit, and run over to the other bar all night?! That sounds like an exciting time!
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Oh, these were separate events. One full season of All Stars was hosted at a regular bar by professional organizers from the community (downtime between Prides, amirite) and there were special events at the gay bar for the season finale and our local version, La Más Draga.
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Sir Patrick Stewart's autobiography has a heartbreaking account of his father's nightly bar visits, and it sounds like he didn't drink alone.
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Bartender from the US here. Im one of the few people i know in the industry that doesnt go out drinking almost every single night
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I try to go to a local spot once a week or so for the sake of community. It's kinda fun.
My problem drinking happens mostly at home.
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Yes. I grew up in the Boston area.
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NORM!!!
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Don’t give me away so easily you cocksucka
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Around 10-15 years ago I worked in a pizzeria with a little sports bar. We had more than a couple people who were there almost every day.
I still stop by there once in a while, and without fail I run into at least one of those old regulars every time.
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One of the only things I miss from somewhere I used to live was my local bar
It was a minute walk from my front door
It was a little hub for the community. My dogs loved it and it was a fantastic place to socialise
I wasn't there every day, but a couple of times a week wasn't unusual
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I used to, up until the last couple years, when I stopped bartending. I still get most of my drinks for free though! And i still have a couple different groups of friends im all but gauranteed to find one of to hand out with.
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I currently have 2 great microbreweries near my work. So, I alternate nights, but, very much a regular at both.
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Yep.
Source: Was one of them.
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When I was in my 20s I frequented a local bar a few times a week and always thought it'd be cool if the bartender would just know what my usual drink was. Turns out that was not a great idea.
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Walked into a bar/club one night and it was packed because some biker event. They had multiple bars but I usually went to an outside one upstairs because I could smoke outside, you know double down on being unhealthy. The bartender somehow saw me and my spouse walk in, ran out from behind the bar and grabbed two chairs stashed in a corner so they were out of the way of people dancing and asked people to slide over and put those chairs in at the bar so we could sit down. Everyone around the area had this look like the queen of fucking England just walked in and Ill never forget it. That's the kind of customer service that will make sure you come back. The guy knew that business was seasonal, but if you treat your locals well when it gets busy like that, they'll be the ones who are there when it's slow season and he'd still have a few customers.
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I worked in a couple of pubs in england back in the 90s and there were definitely regulars that would come in every weekend night and quite often, some week nights.
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Like…um…what are you doing?
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me and my friends used to be regulars in a shitty pub where there was a group of older people who would be in there all day every day.
he was probably double my age but it didn't stop him coming over to our table and pestering me and some of the other women.
we didn't go in too frequently but the staff recognised us as regulars. we had to stop because some nasty people would come in on a specific day and one of our group wqs afraid of running into them.
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Not every night but twice a week I got social pressure to go to the bar to drink. I hated it because those were eight perfect hours that could be used for playing with my PC 🤓
Nowadays I couldn't afford it anymore even if before I was a broke student and now I have a job
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Depends on the person. I think it was more common 20-30 years ago than now in some places.
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I never did and none of the other men and women in my family either.
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Such a vague question merits the default It Depends™.
Still is common, most bars have their regulars
Yeah. Few times a week I go to mine to chat with all the locals over two or three beers then head home. It's a nice way to wind down, be out, and socialise at a really low intensity. No organising is needed, just arrive and there'll be someone there you know.
That was kind of the point of pubs (public house). A place for the community to meet up in any weather and have a good time together whether games, sharing stories, or having a meal. The smaller the town, the friendlier and more tight the patrons are too. Also great places to frequent when travelling, meeting new locals, getting great travel advice, making friends for the few days you're there.
Yep, been a while since worked at a place like that, but there was definitely a crowed that would be there most days. This was mid 2000’s. Partly dried up when smoking indoors was banned, I think that was the last straw for a big part of the culture that was already drying up.
I live a block away from my local bar. Go multiple times a week to play pool. There's a lot of regulars so it's like hanging out with friends/neighbors.