One Saturday on Third Street, a Little Bit of Heaven - New York Times

One Saturday on Third Street, a Little Bit of Heaven - New York Times: "
May 29, 2005

One Saturday on Third Street, a Little Bit of Heaven

By JASON GEORGE

One recent Saturday night, the heavens seemed to have opened for the patrons of the Town Tavern on West Third Street. Drinks passed over the bar without so much as a nickel exchanged. Platters of burgers, piled high with cheese and bacon and nested in French fries, landed in front of customers without a bill in sight. It was the 'free ride' that all bar hoppers dream about.
And it was all a mistake.
Two days later, Sean Barrett, the bar's 29-year-old general manager, was still trying to piece together how his establishment came to resemble a wedding reception that required no gifts nor a single bridesmaid's dress to acquire the swag.
'It's got me staying up late wondering about what happened,' he said over the phone, sounding a bit panicked. 'In my experience, nothing good comes out of open bar nights and our liquor costs went through the roof.'
By midweek, Mr. Barrett had determined that his event coordinator had sent an unauthorized Evite that had gotten out of hand - or to be more accurate, had gotten into many different hands.
All it took were sentences like 'Open bar - all you can drink from 9-12 a.m.' and 'Print off the Evite & you will receive a complimentary dinner on us too!' and Inkjet cartridges were emptying from Brooklyn to New Jersey. By the time the evening rolled around, hostesses were also welcoming people who hadn't even received the e-mail invitation, and were just lucky enough to have stumbled into the bar.
The Town Tavern, which filled the space of a departed Burger King six months ago, has done its best to stay afloat with creative promotions, Mr. Barrett said, mentioning such events as 'Mango Martini Mondays' and 'Legendary Ladies Night,' at which all nurses and flight attendants receive free drinks between 5 and 9 p.m.
'If you want to survive, you've got to stay on the cutting edge,' he said. 'The New York bar and restaurant scene is tough.'
But a random free night for all was not - nor will it ever be - part of the business plan, Mr. Barrett said. 'Giving things away for free, you've got to be pretty strategic about it,' he mentioned. 'That was one that fell through the cracks.'
For now, he is trying to come up with new ideas, even eyeing the success of the famed Blue Note jazz club, which sits across the street from the Town Tavern.
'They have a great formula and they have them packed,' he said. 'I don't know how they do it.'"