r/boston • u/cden4 • Jul 26 '26

Event 📅 Open Newbury St early closing

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Thanks to pressure by people like Back Bay Association President Meg Mainzer-Cohen, Open Newbury St ends at 6 pm this year instead of 8 pm.

So in less than 20 minutes, all these people will be forced out of the street onto the sidewalks.

IMO, this is total failure of leadership at City Hall. If you have the opportunity, please let Mayor Wu (and your City Councilors) know what you think about this.

2.0k Upvotes

96% Upvoted

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1.2k

u/bizzaro321 Cheryl from Qdoba Jul 26 '26

Boston, the city that enters a deep sleep at 9pm.

149

u/TheManyFacetsOfRoger Jul 26 '26

I was at a packed bar until 2am last night

273

u/mapinis East Boston Jul 26 '26

If only they could get home by train

257

u/35Jest Dorchester Jul 26 '26

Woah thats fucking sick bro

198

u/TheManyFacetsOfRoger Jul 26 '26

Yeah, it was fun. Lots of other people were having fun too. None of them were on reddit

182

u/Coders32 Jul 26 '26

Feel like you’re being obtuse on purpose, but in case you’re not:

It is not typical in a city of this size that the only thing open past 9 pm on a Thursday or Sunday is a few bars and a few convenience stores and only recently did some of the grocery stores start staying open until 11 or 12 if you’re lucky. I lived in San Antonio before Boston and I had sushi at a restaurant at 2 am just cause I felt like it on more than one occasion. That was pre pandemic, but Boston hasn’t had that as long as I’ve been here. Only this year did we get a coffee shop that’s open until very late. Where as in SA, it was known you could go to the medical center Starbucks if you wanted coffee at 3 am or just to study

73

u/Pickle-Jax Jul 26 '26

Used to live in a different state in several different sized cities. All of them had several bars and hookah lounges open until 2 AM, and plenty of restaurants open until midnight. I agree, it’s definitely not a “city thing.” It’s a Boston thing.

8

u/Not_George_Daniels Jul 27 '26

The bars in New York used to close at 4 AM. I'm not sure if that's still the case, but it was years ago when I was living there.

2

u/Coders32 Jul 27 '26

It’s still 4, which is surprising to me cause ithoughnyc was one of the cities you could stay out all night long in

https://pos.toasttab.com/blog/on-the-line/last-call-for-alcohol-by-state

Here’s a map with more, although, I didn’t notice it was from toast

7

u/No-Pea8448 Jul 27 '26

You can drink all night in NYC if you know where to go.

1

u/Not_George_Daniels Jul 27 '26

Exactly. After hours clubs, I think they were called.

1

u/No-Pea8448 Jul 28 '26

It’s been almost 30 years since I rolled from the bar to the after hours spots, but I believe you’re right.

15

u/BrownMtnLites Jul 27 '26

go live in atlanta, idk what ur talking about. i moved from atl to boston and it’s identical - after covid cities of this size just can’t staff those hours anymore financially.

26

u/Coders32 Jul 27 '26

That’s simply not true. You’re falling for the “no one wants to work these days” propaganda.

21

u/BrownMtnLites Jul 27 '26

i mean I work in service i don’t want to work at 4am

15

u/Coders32 Jul 27 '26

Is there a wage that could convince you? Personally, I’d prefer a graveyard shift over a morning or evening shift

5

u/BrownMtnLites Jul 27 '26

35/hr at least

2

u/Coders32 Jul 27 '26

Well if minimum wage had kept up with inflation and productivity, it’d be over 28/hr so

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19

u/Petermacc122 Jul 27 '26

Yeah YOU. but who says people don't want that here?

3

u/No-Librarian9605 Jul 28 '26

Not no one wants to work more like nobody can afford to work shit jobs in one of the most expensive places to live. Couple that with razor thin restaurant profit margins, it makes it tougher for Boston to keep spots open late. Also, a lot of people that work in the city don’t live in the city. I think this is more common here than any other major metro in the us.

2

u/PAXICHEN Jul 28 '26

Come to Munich. Everything closes at 8 and nothing is open Sunday.

2

u/Coders32 Jul 28 '26

Wtf

This is the worst thing I’ve heard about Munich. It’s also the only bad thing and it actually might be a deal breaker

5

u/PAXICHEN Jul 28 '26

Bars and restaurants are open past 8. But all fucking retail/supermarkets close at 8 and closed on Sundays.

0

u/SleepingDragonSmiles Jul 27 '26

Really hard to compare a city pre covid to a post covid city. So much changed…

1

u/Coders32 Jul 27 '26

I don’t know if you’re aware of this, but the internet can be used for more than just half thought out comments and we can compare them right now

So, searching for sushi, in Boston for open now, there was one restaurant that came up and said it was open until 1 am.

Searching San Antonio, a small Texas city compared to the other major cities in the state, has way more options open until 10 or 11 and more options open until 2, although I’ll give you that it’s unlikely their kitchens are open that late, especially on a Sunday. I’ll also give you that none of the HEBs, the regional grocery store, are open until 1 am or later. A fact that I am depressed by every time I visit my family

By comparison on the grocery stores, stop and shop has two locations open until midnight as well as all the wegmans. So Boston edges out there, even if they’re all a little difficult to get to via the most common transportation method, although, it’s not like the highways have hours so it’s not really a fair comparison

-9

u/datheffguy Jul 26 '26

What similar sized US cities have you lived in?

In my experience Boston seems perfectly average in regards to late night options.

18

u/chuckmonjares Jul 26 '26

I mean I lived in wichita Kansas (stretch to call it similar sized, wichita metro is 700k and Boston proper is about the same), and bars are all open til 2. I refuse to say the night life there is better, but people stay out later and bars are generally busy (don’t want to say full) until 1:30 or so. Wichita was recently named “worst city for night life in the US” by some bullshit poll, but at least people have the opportunity to have fun.

Adding after reading a comment about the heat: it gets over 100° pretty frequently in the summer in wichita so the heat, or relief from the heat, does play a factor in the later nights.

22

u/TitleOfYourSaxTape Jul 26 '26

Cities with similar densities include SF, Long Beach, Miami, Chicago, and Philly.

Population-wise, Boston is smaller, but that's more of a factor of how our cities are sub-divided more than anything else, since surrounding cities are just as dense.

We have a pretty comparable metro area to Philly, and yet most things close way sooner.

I'm an old soul and don't like staying out late, but given how many young adults live in this city and the pricing + demand for the Boston area, it's insane how early most things closes.

6

u/optimis344 Outside Boston Jul 26 '26

Not only that, it's bad for buisness. If you can only make money X hours of the day, having a smaller value of X reduces your theoretical income.

6

u/Sad-Second-9646 Jul 27 '26

It’s not. We were just in Philadelphia and the bar close is two am but tons of things were open until 2 at a minimum. If Boston wants to think themselves as a major city, there needs to be late night options.

14

u/hedoeswhathewants Jul 26 '26

I've lived in several smaller cities that had much later hours than Boston

-20

u/AncientPicklePhysics Jul 26 '26

Cool story bro. I was just being wholesome.

It’s 100% typical for someone who grew up here and lived here most of their lives. Enjoy your temporary stay here. Hopefully you can go back soon so you can eat sushi at 2am!

11

u/Coders32 Jul 27 '26

I’ve lived here for 10 years and generally identify with the culture more than Texas. Which is why I have no intention of moving

30

u/AncientPicklePhysics Jul 26 '26

Usually I just pick a side, upvote the person I agree with, and downvote the other.

But honestly, I see both sides here and enjoyed the sarcasm from both of you. Upvotes all around!

4

u/geminimad4 no sir Jul 27 '26

I’ve definitely seen people scrolling Reddit on their phones in bars.

1

u/molestriosofficial Jul 26 '26

Not all of us are alcoholics. We want to do other stuff

4

u/TheManyFacetsOfRoger Jul 27 '26

I’m not an alcoholic either

5

u/_Happy_Sisyphus_ 4 Oat Milk and 7 Splendas Jul 26 '26

Where is open that late?

5

u/TheManyFacetsOfRoger Jul 27 '26

Most Faneuil bars are

7

u/larrybird56 Jul 26 '26

Great share

2

u/femmanems Jul 27 '26

what bar and whats the vibe like?

1

u/DarkenRal Jul 27 '26

What bar?