By Kevin Wilkerson, PubClub.com Nightlife Blogger
Open 24 Hours.
I made a shirt that says that boldly on the front of it. On the back it says “PubClub.com, Where The World Goes To Party!” That last part is the PubClub tagline. It gets a lot of attention, too; people always ask about it when I wear it out to bars and event. I created it to showcase the fact people can go to PubClub.com 24 hours a day. A website, unlike a bar or nightclub, never closes.
Now, tho, some bars and nightclubs are staying open as cities around the world are exploring 24-hour nightlife. It has long existed in Las Vegas and Monaco, but it’s happening in other places, too. Amsterdam, which is taking steps to stop the overflow of tourism, interestingly enough, has limited 24-hour bars, but not its main nightlife areas. One is A’DAM Toren which is in a 22-story tower with offices, cafes, restaurants and an underground club in the Overhoeks neighborhood.
Berlin bars have no official closing time. This dates back to the end of World War II when a a hotelier persuaded the American head of the West Berlin that it would help the economy. Today, “techno tourism” as it is calls, brings more than 3 million people to the city every every year, according to a 2019 report by Clubcommission Berlin. To accommodate those early-morning barflies, the trains run 24 hours on weekends.
In Tokyo, clubs stay open until 6 a.m., which is practically the same as being open for 24 hours. In New York City, the city that never sleeps, the bars must go dark at 4 a.m., unless they have a special permit or license.
The Big Apple is looking at ending closing times, as is Montreal in its downtown area. The reason is the huge economic impact of having a 24-hour bar policy. New York City did an economic analysis in 2019 that showed nightlife generates $35.1 billion for the city annually and accounts for nearly 300,000 jobs . It defined nightlife industry as food, drink and entertainment between 6 p.m. and 6 a.m.
Meanwhile, in California, bars close at 2 a.m. And “tables up” is 1:30. Some LA clubs stay open until 4 a.m., but stop serving alcohol at 2. On the plus side from a party perspective, the state is considering establishing “entertainment zones” to allow to-go drinks from restaurants and bars.