Should Los Angeles extend bar hours to 4am? (Pasadena: houses, buy)

[Island_OnThe_Land]

Do locals (or visitors) agree that Los Angeles should extend the hours bars can serve liquor to 4am (like SO MANY other big cities do in USA AND indeed the world)??

Any feedback as to why we have this crazy tradition of last call at 2am? What regulations or laws would need to change (at the state or local level)?

Also, I don't buy the argument that the warm weather and the fitness craze in LA is a good historical reason we should have implemented this tradition. Look at cities like Miami that are very warm weather yet manage to have bars/clubs that serve alcohol very late (4am or 5am, etc). Also, they are very car dependent in Miami.

Feel free to disagree with me....but I think the so called entertaiment capital of the world should be able to party as late as Las Vegas, Miami, NYC, Chicago, New Orleans, etc.

[jbunniii]

2am closing time is not "crazy tradition," it's state law. LA can't unilaterally override it, as far as I know.

There are enough drunks on the road at 2am as it is. Do we really want them on the road after 5am instead? There are people already commuting at that hour.

[Island_OnThe_Land]

Originally Posted by jbunniii

2am closing time is not "crazy tradition," it's state law. LA can't unilaterally override it, as far as I know.

There are enough drunks on the road at 2am as it is. Do we really want them on the road after 5am instead? There are people already commuting at that hour.

Thanks for clarifying that it is mandated as state law.

As for your argument, I'd want to know if accidents related to booze are actually higher in other states that serve until 4 or 5am? I assume they are not (even in car dependent places like Miami, etc).

[Tanque Verde]

Who says bars have to close at all. Why not just keep bars open around the clock. Build some casinos right in the large population centers to help keep Californians money here in California.

[nmnita]

Originally Posted by Island_OnThe_Land

Do locals (or visitors) agree that Los Angeles should extend the hours bars can serve liquor to 4am (like SO MANY other big cities do in USA AND indeed the world)??

Any feedback as to why we have this crazy tradition of last call at 2am? What regulations or laws would need to change (at the state or local level)?

Also, I don't buy the argument that the warm weather and the fitness craze in LA is a good historical reason we should have implemented this tradition. Look at cities like Miami that are very warm weather yet manage to have bars/clubs that serve alcohol very late (4am or 5am, etc). Also, they are very car dependent in Miami.

Feel free to disagree with me....but I think the so called entertaiment capital of the world should be able to party as late as Las Vegas, Miami, NYC, Chicago, New Orleans, etc.

and I can't see what difference it really makes. If you really want to drink after 2am, go back to your apt or house and finish up the evening. This subject comes up here every couple of weeks.

Nita

[the one]

some venues do stay open after 4, but at that point they go around and grab your drink away from you. i have experienced this personally.

a 2 am closing time is fine, but 4am might be more apporpriate for places like hollywood, koreatown or downtown. it would add to the 24 hour feel of it all.

as for drunks on the road... a friend of mine(lapd) works traffic in south LA, i am suprised at how many people drink and drive during the daytime hours. his craziest stories are from day time drunk drivers. that being the case i think it would be more dangerous to have drunks on the streets when they are more crowded (daytime hours).

i would have no problem extending bar hours. but in certain areas only.

[Bunjee]

I think just on Fridays and Saturdays in the denser club districts would be fine. 2AM is still too early for so many people to be vacating the bars all at the same time (not that those days aren't well behind me, personally). With a later last call, crowds would thin out more gradually. I've read that a lot of revenue is generated between 1AM and 4AM where later closing times are allowed, and revenue helps everyone. Also, a lot of buses and trains start running again early AM. So with 24 hour nosh places and less a wait longer for public transportation, if your designated driver has ditched you and you're too remote for a cab ride, there's a safe option for that reality...

[cynwldkat]

I suppose it would be a way to keep all the drunks in the bar until it's almost light outside. Would that be better?????

[the one]

thats very true. i forgot about that. a lot of the rapid lines (particularly in downtown) run on an owl schedule. and most lines in the central part of LA DO begin service around 4:30/5.

i think late night hours are good for people like myself, who SOMETIMES, dont get the party started till about midnight. arriving at a bar at midnight leaves very little time to mix and mingle.

there are people who start there evenings off later in the night.

on a side note. i remeber back in the 90's there were a lot more after hours and "undergrounds". some of them had liqour, others didnt. but it just seemed like there were more places to party. a lot were word of mouth, many of them in the same industrial district warehouses. they werent really bars or clubs, but they were parties at the same venues, week after week.

ahhhhh memories...

Originally Posted by Bunjee

I think just on Fridays and Saturdays in the denser club districts would be fine. 2AM is still too early for so many people to be vacating the bars all at the same time (not that those days aren't well behind me, personally). With a later last call, crowds would thin out more gradually. I've read that a lot of revenue is generated between 1AM and 4AM where later closing times are allowed, and revenue helps everyone. Also, a lot of buses and trains start running again early AM. So with 24 hour nosh places and less a wait longer for public transportation, if your designated driver has ditched you and you're too remote for a cab ride, there's a safe option for that reality...

[Bunjee]

Well, the Red Line starts at around 4:30AM, so I'd try and push that up hoping the traffic will justify the earlier hours of operation (and to avoid crowds of drunken people standing around waiting for the stations to open). The Blue Line will get downtown partiers out to LB; the Gold Line, to Pasadena. But at least everyone would be able to get to Union Station, and to MetroLink if they live further. Certainly a little additional security will be needed, but it's already a secured environment so that's no administrative stretch, and another revenue stream would open up for cafes and newsstands. Late (basically overnight) parking will also be a concern at MetroLink stations.

I think if the city addresses the feasibility of bus/subway/train transportation it can fully justify a change of policy in the hours of operation of bars and clubs to the benefit of businesses and patrons. You know, it's not just for people who want to barhop all night. There are those who'd like to attend a play or see a late night movie or event that might let out well after midnight, and afterwards would want to go to a lounge for a couple of hours not for binge drinking but for a fun stopover. If Union Station becomes a safe landing afterwards then perhaps Olvera Street--which I've groused about elsewhere as not very central to LA's cultural life--can evolve into an interesting, mellow, regular after hours haunt. MMMmmmmm, cinnamon coffee, fried ice cream, chalupas.