Nightlife Mixes With Restaurant Diners In A Lively Weekend Scene
There’s noise from conversations, music, lines out the doors and pedicabs are patrolling the area looking for customers.
On the surface, it seems a normal night of nightlife on a weekend in San Diego’s Gaslamp Quarter.
But look closer, and you will definitely see things are different because of this COVID-19 era. And it’s obvious that the bars, at least along Fifth Ave., in the Curbside San Diego outdoor dining area, are adhering to social distancing protocol.
Yes, there are lines of people waiting to get inside – long lines of a dozen to two dozen people at some places. But look inside, and the bars are mostly empty. There’s no one standing around, no people in the aisles and no raucous scene normally associated with being in a bar.
In fact, the bars are so empty, in normal times you would be tempted to bypass them and to look for some place more lively.
But people are desperate to find anything in order to get out of their houses and apartments these days, and so they are going to the Gaslamp to find any kind of entertainment. The most popular places along Fifth Avenue (in other words, those with the longest lines), are American Junkie, Atomic, Barleymash, Myst Lounge, Whiskey Girl and Tipsy Crow.
Most – at least 60% – are wearing masks, either while in line or walking along the blocked-off-to-traffic Fifth Ave., which is a part of the outdoor dining experience known as Curbside Gaslamp.
They are not, for the most part, six feet apart while waiting in line. Occasionally, a bouncer will leave his duty at the door to go out into the line and request that people keep their social distance.
Inside the bars, they are certainly achieving that objective.
Overall, the scene is a good one, with barflies seeking out bars and walking up and down Fifth Ave., while diners are sitting outside in the street enjoying a relaxing meal. If not exactly a quiet one.
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