By New York Post (U.S.) | Created at 2024-12-31 23:39:14 | Updated at 2025-01-03 21:20:54
2 days ago
They rang in the New Year – five hours ahead of schedule.
New York City barflies and dancefloor divas who wanted a New Year’s Eve night on the town – and to still be in bed before midnight – came out in droves to Manhattan bars hosting parties centered around “countdowns” as early as 7 p.m.
“When you walk in the bar at our 7:30 p.m. ‘matinee,’ it looks like 1 a.m.,” said Jennifer Shorr, owner of the Alphabet City club Joyface — which hosted its second annual “matinee” New Year’s Eve celebration from 5 to 10 p.m. Tuesday.
“It ends up being mostly parents, like young parents,” Shorr said of the early-night celebration, which includes pizza, a champagne toast and caviar bumps for about $100. “It’s people that have babysitters at home, people that run outside and video chat with their child for a second and then come back inside.”
The disco-themed bar also hosts regular boogie nights from 5 to 10 p.m. on Saturdays under the banner ‘Matinee Social Club.’ Despite the early hour, Shorr contends the event – which draws crowds in their 40s to 60s on average – is in high demand.
Tuesday’s early countdown sold out online days in advance, she said.
“These people, they still want to party and rage, so they still feel like they can get ready and go out and be out in the city at night, and then they’re home at a reasonable hour, ” Shorr said. “One couple told me that this was better than couples therapy.’”
Raquel Tirado, 40, from Jersey City, NJ, was sipping a dirty martini at Joyface with her husband Tuesday.
“We have a 3-year-old, we have to put her to bed,” the mom said. “We are going to leave at 8. The babysitter needs to leave at 9.”
Upper West Side resident Emmy London called the party “the best of both worlds.
“We are almost 40 so it’s like we want to be home early relaxing in our pjs,” London, 39, said. “When you get to your late 30s, you’re like, ‘Is it worth it [to stay out]?’ ”
Early-bird ball drops appear to have gained popularity, with the West Village bar Cubbyhole adding its own 7 p.m. countdown “for elders and the elderly at heart” to its New Year’s Eve roster this year.
“This is awesome, and I’m 40,” a patron remarked on social media.
Another persona dded, “I’ve been begging the world for this for years.”
A third person wrote, “I have never felt more seen.”
Sunday’s last-minute announcement of the bar’s early-bird soiree amassed so much support that Cubbyhole general manager Vic King Smith said the joint has found a “new annual tradition.”
“I thought it would be a silly thing that drew a few folks, but the flier has gotten a ton of [Instagram] engagement, and I can’t wait to see the turnout,” Smith said.
The general manager noted the bar initially created the early event in order to allow a few regulars with disabilities, who require more space and prefer earlier timing, to enjoy the festivities. The alternative time would also allow for more patrons to frequent the small West Village dive without having to stand in line in the cold weather.
Smith noted a growing trend of patrons not staying out as late post-pandemic, too.
“We are certainly still building back from and seeing the effects of that era, which means we have to get creative. If there’s a community need, we try to anticipate and meet that,” Smith said. “Cubbyhole is celebrating 30 years this year, and we have survived by staying creative and responsive.”
Shore said, “There’s definitely a need.
“I feel like people really want it … even if it’s [those] in the 30- to 45-year-old range, they’re still pretty young,” she said. “If they’re people who used to party and now maybe their kids are like 5, now they’re ready to go.”
Shorr added that even some Gen Zers are joining in on the early-partying trend and that Joyface’s “oldies” night is only 30-and-up “culturally” – and “21+ legally.”
The early-night trend also appears to follow similar directions breweries and bars have adopted in recent years to accommodate drinkers and partiers toting babies and fur-babies alike.
“It feels, at its core, very wholesome,” Shorr said of the early-bird events. “The bar stays cleaner, the bathroom stays cleaner, no one’s rude, there’s no glass that breaks – everyone’s just very respectful and nice.”
