Where to wind down all week long.
Who named the happy hour? We looked it up—and it’s not what you’d expect.
It was the mid-1910s, according to Wikipedia, when a group called the Happy Hour Social started organizing twice-weekly events on board the USS Arkansas. By 1920, the practice had spread across the U.S. Navy, and it was picked up all over the country in the 1920s with Prohibition, when people would gather for a pre-dinner happy hour at a speakeasy before moving on to dinner without alcohol. So we may actually have Prohibition to thank for our discounted after-work drinks.
The world was surely a sadder place before happy hours. Luckily, we don’t have to join the military or dodge the law to participate in this very civilized custom. Here are a few of our staff’s favorite places to carry the tradition forward.
48 Donley
Every day, noon–2 p.m.: 50% off all menu cocktails, beer, and wine
Monday–Saturday, 5–7 p.m.: 50% off all menu cocktails, beer, and wine
Wednesdays, 5 p.m.–close, The Buzz: A half glass of a selection of three wines paired with a chef’s-choice small plate, $15
Cafe Oliverio
Wednesdays 4 p.m.–close, Wine Wednesdays: ½ off house pours and select bottles
Escobar’s
Wednesdays 5 p.m.–close, Girl Dinner: $20 pizza, martini, salad, and desert special
Iron Horse Tavern
Monday–Friday, 3–5 p.m. in the bar area: $1 off craft beer, cocktails, and wine, plus buy one get one ½ off any appetizer
Kegler’s Sports Bar
Mondays 3 p.m.–close: $10 select pitchers, 2 for 1 rail drinks, 75¢ wings, $5 for a half-pound
Tuesdays 3 p.m.–close, Taco Tuesdays: $2 tacos and margaritas, $3 Modelo mugs
Thursdays 5–7 p.m.: $4 Long Island iced teas, $2.50 Bud and Bud Light bottles, ½ off select appetizers
Fridays 3–6 p.m.: ½ off all alcohol, 75¢ wings
Mountain State Brewing Co.
Monday–Friday, 3–6 p.m. at the bar rail: $1 off house drafts and ½ off appetizers
Pies and Pints
Monday–Friday, 3–6 p.m.: $1 off select pints and house wines, $2 off appetizers
The Wine Bar at Vintner Valley
Monday–Thursday, 4–6 p.m.: ½ off wines by the glass, $4 off cocktails, $2–3 off beer, ½ off flatbreads