In his autobiographical ode to simpler times “A Moveable Feast,” Ernest Hemingway writes, “We ate well and cheaply and drank well and cheaply and slept well and warm together and loved each other.”
Sounds lovely, but is this idyllic and vibrant lifestyle ““ mainly the part about drinking cheaply ““ realistic during times of widespread economic hardship?
Living and drinking well but cheaply has been a hot topic of discussion for cultural analysts as the economy has worsened.
Last week, the New York Times ran an article about frugality resurging as a desired virtue, since the national savings rate has risen over the past few months.
Frugality is certainly a handy quality for the times. But when it comes to experiencing nightlife with the same pre-recession gusto, people still just want to have fun.
Here in Westwood, several upscale restaurants and bars such as Palomino and Yamato have extended and diversified their happy hours to accommodate the wallets of college students, who always seem to be living on a budget, as well as to cater to young professionals who are looking to cut back.
Fourth-year history student Daniel Rhine said his going-out habits haven’t changed with the economy. “Even before the economy went bad, I was pretty frugal,” he said.
Rhine, like many college students, has had to make decisions between the cheaper choice of staying in or being more social, which is often more expensive.
“I’m often torn between trying to stay at home because that’s cheaper, and going out and being in social situations,” said Rhine. “In truth, I’ve been doing kind of a bad job staying at home, even in this economy.”
Seva Granik launched the popular nightlife-listing Web site myopenbar.com in 2005 after he and his friend, both unemployed and broke, started actively seeking out open bars around Manhattan, a city notorious for skyscraper-high cocktail prices.
“We didn’t really have the budget to spend $200 a week,” Granik said. “It wasn’t anywhere near our budget … which was zero. We’d go to all these places and get drunk for free and party for nothing. Word got out and people started to follow us.”
My Open Bar has 55,000 subscribers nationally and has city-specific Web sites for several large U.S. cities, including Los Angeles.
The Web site has a day-by-day listing of happenings around town that publicize open bars or bargain happy hours, which can include art exhibit openings or promotional drinks at a swank bar. In today’s listings for Los Angeles, for example, My Open Bar lists six art openings with free “art party drinks.”
Granik said the number of Web site subscribers has been steadily increasing since the launch of the Web site, and it periodically peaks during times of economic recession ““ the most recent recession being no exception.
Since its creation, the overarching demographic of My Open Bar subscribers has broadened from a group that originally was limited to 20-something unemployed hipsters to include people who work jobs with decent salaries but still want to be thrifty when they go out because of the economy.
The desire to drink for free or cheap is not a new phenomenon, to be sure. But actively seeking out events that offer free drinks is on the upswing ““ resulting in people who previously may not have gone out on the town at all now exploring nightlife.
A recent event that was featured on My Open Bar was the opening of an art exhibit called “Papershapers” at the Scion Installation Center in Culver City.
L.A. resident Sheree Johnson found out about the Papershapers opening and its publicized free alcohol through My Open Bar. Johnson, who just completed graduate school and is currently unemployed, conceded that the fact there was an open bar was the catalyst in her decision to go out.
“I was just thinking about how hitting up open bars is such a popular thing to do now,” Johnson said, looking around at the packed gallery, full of young people clutching plastic cups of wine and beer and moseying around to check out the art. She echoed a common sentiment heard from many at the opening: “I like art and I like drinking.”
Felix Brown, who was also at the Papershapers opening, said he and his friends were actually thinking about starting a blog that promoted happenings in Los Angeles for under $20, given the state of the economy. Brown attends art openings like the Papershapers event often and thought that the onslaught of free events spurred by the recession can motivate people who may not have experienced the many facets of L.A. nightlife to explore some new options.
“I think there’s going to be a fundamental shift in L.A.,” Brown said. “A lot of my friends used to go out to the clubs a lot … but the economic realities have just been a rude awakening for them.”
These cheap opportunities to more creatively explore the city aren’t limited to benefiting personal enrichment.
Soup Kitchen Fridays at the Edison downtown boast Depression-era drinks at Depression-era prices every Friday night from 5-7 p.m., with cocktails costing 35 cents and free grilled cheese sandwiches and tomato soup.
Word of mouth for the event has seen numbers increase from about 50 to 100 people per night to around 400 people.
The Edison’s general manager, Barbara Jacobs, who organized the event, said the frustration over the October bailouts provided the inspiration for Soup Kitchen Fridays and for the decision to donate 25 percent of the proceeds from the event to the Midnight Mission, which seeks to aid Los Angeles’ homeless. Since Soup Kitchen Fridays started in October, the proceeds have paid for 150,000 meals for the homeless.
Despite these hard times, the opportunities to have a fun night out on the town haven’t diminished but have diversified.
“Most people in L.A. think, “˜Maybe I can’t afford that,’ or, “˜Maybe it’s beyond my reach,'” Brown said. “I think (exploring free events) will encourage people to come out more. … People will discover unique things to do that don’t cost anything. And what’s better than that?”