Is Thursday the New Friday?
Saratoga's bar and restaurant scene has been thriving on Thursdays—but does it compare to the first night of the weekend?
This past Thursday, while I was at dinner at a packed Osteria Danny, I got a text from a friend: “Stay in ‘Toga. We’re on our way.” This wasn’t a surprise—over the past few months, it seems that every Thursday I find myself out on the town, one way or another. (I thought that after track season things would die down and I’d have time to catch up on shows such as Season 2 of The Vow on Thursdays, but no such luck.) On the contrary, my Friday nights have been more low-key (I even joined a tennis league that plays at 6pm or 8pm every Friday evening). Which got me thinking: Is Thursday the new Friday in the Spa City?
Several Thursday night reconnaissance missions to downtown Saratoga to study the post-track season, pre-winter scene have made one thing abundantly clear: Spa City Tap & Barrel, which hosts trivia at 7pm and karaoke starting at 9pm, is the place to be. “Thursday is the only day of the week that you’ll find me at Tap & Barrel,” says Saratogian Katie McDowell, who leans more toward Night Owl and Saratoga Soundbar on Saturday nights. “It’s not my typical vibe, but on karaoke night it’s the place I want to be.”
Last Thursday, I arrived at Tap (as its patrons affectionately refer to it) to find Reba Stodgell near the stage. “I’m singing ‘Redneck Woman’ in a few songs,” she yelled over the din of the shoulder-to-shoulder crowd. I asked if she thought Thursday was the new Friday. “I’m all here for it, baby!” Others around the bar agreed. “Thursday is the new Friday,” Regan DeLancey said definitively. “If you go out on a Friday and a Thursday, you always have a better time on Thursday because you can have a conversation.” In other words, the slightly smaller crowds make it easier to chat with friends, or in my case, strangers. “People forget that Thursday is the best day of the week because you don’t want to be hungover on a weekend,” Kevin Farrell said. “Thursday is the best night of the week to have a couple beers and have a good time.”
Clearly, the hype around Thursdays is less about the number of people as it is about socializing with other like-minded locals trying to dodge the masses that descend on Caroline Street on weekend nights. And that mentality extends to the city’s restaurant scene as well. Buoyed by pent-up demand that’s a result of the seasonal and labor shortage–fueled closing of most restaurants on Mondays and Tuesdays, Wednesdays can be busy and Thursdays are now a distinct entrée to the weekend. “We get an eclectic crowd on Thursdays,” Henry Street Taproom owner Ryan McFadden tells me. “It’s everything from people networking”—the new Networking at Night group I’m in met there this past Thursday—”to regulars who come in every day. It’s usually bustling and it’s got a nice energy, especially in the winter. It’s less than Friday—but not terribly less.” The Adelphi, on the other hand, sees great local business on Mondays and Tuesdays, as its one of the only places in town open for dinner.
The hankering to let out some steam on Thursday comes at a price, though. “I have a 10am meeting tomorrow,” Ryan Mortka told me at Tap. “It’s been in the back of my mind all night.” Over at Bailey’s, where I met my friends this past Thursday, that sentiment seemed to be the general consensus. “Thursday is risky when you’re in the workforce,” admitted Daisy Sullivan, who was there watching a football game, like many of the other patrons that night. (Thursday night football is an easy excuse to go out drinking because you’re ‘watching the game,’ I was told.) I asked Bailey’s co-owner Matt Beecher if Thursday was the new Friday, and he said, “Not for us. Tap definitely thrives on Thursday, though. They’ve built a solid reoccurring crowd. So for them, yes. Everyone else, no.”
Henry Street’s Ryan did say that Wednesdays are a little slow in the restaurant world, but I’ve found the opposite to be true in the events world; it seems like every Wednesday I have something else going on—AIM Services’ Vin Le Soir, the Saratoga Showcase of Homes awards dinner, the soft opening of Whitman Brewing’s Beer Hall, Saratoga Living’s Singles Night and next week’s Whiskey Night in Saratoga…the list goes on. The jury’s out on whether or not Thursday is the new Friday. But is Wednesday the new Thursday? Well, that’s a story for another day.
—Natalie
Quote of the Week
“There are two things I like in life: Golfing and Rumple Minz.”
—Overheard at a balmy, outdoor Breeders’ Cup watch party
We’ve Got Issues
This week, the holiday issues of Saratoga Living and Capital Region Living were officially released with much fanfare. Check out the digital versions of SL, starring Saratoga Grazing Co’s Erika Dibble on the cover, and CRL, which features Samantha Decker’s gorgeous photo of Glens Falls in the wintertime, here.
Trey Bien
Speaking of Glens Falls, upstate jam band fanatics will converge on our neighbor to the north this Sunday for a concert by lead Phish guitarist Trey Anastasio and his side band, who drew quite a crowd for a special three-night run at SPAC last summer. “This is big for Glens Falls,” an excited resident told me (yes), this past Thursday night. “I’m going for Goose,” someone else told me at last week’s Breeders’ Cup party. Apparently, there’s even talk in the jam band scene of Goose being the next to inherit “the torch”—which was passed from the Grateful Dead to Trey and Phish when Jerry Garcia died.
Save the Date
Tickets are now live for our annual Capital Region Gives Back event celebrating 10 do-gooders from the area, returning to Putnam Place on Thursday, December 15. Read up on the 10 honorees on saratogaliving.com and crlmag.com and pick which charity or nonprofit you’d like to support, and then purchase your tickets (50% of the price will go to that nonprofit) here. Christina Arangio of Channel 10 will emcee, and DJ BoyBoy will man the party. Did we mention the delicious, holiday-worthy wine from Freixenet and the tequila tasting by One With Life?
Greenhouse of Gryffindor
You may remember a story we did in the spring on Albany bar/ax-throwing/ice cream shop The Yard’s themed greenhouses, which can be rented out on weekend nights throughout the cold-weather months. (Ashley Salvadore, wife of National Mullet Championship winner Scott, designed a Barbie-themed one last season.) Well, greenhouse reservations are now open for the winter. This season’s themes? Casino Royale, which seats four people and—get this—Harry Potter, which seats up to eight.
This Week in Saratoga Living After Hours
On Monday, we shared three close-up photos of Spa City establishments that readers had to ID.
Then, on Tuesday, we ranked our top five least favorite traffic intersections in Saratoga.