The Sad Truth of Happy Hour in Massachusetts
A stalled push to repeal a ban on happy hour in Massachusetts has reignited a debate over the state’s drinking laws and nightlife.
Forty years ago, Massachusetts became the first state in the country to implement a complete ban on happy hour. In July, Massachusetts State Senator Julian A. Cyr made a push to lift the ban, in an attempt to put happy hour back on the table for bar and restaurant goers.
Though Cyr’s most recent effort to overturn the restriction was left out of the state budget in November, the measure has started a renewed conversation on whether or not Massachusetts should join the more than 40 other states that permit alcohol-related promotions.
The proposal has seen opposition from the Massachusetts Restaurant Association, which argues that happy hour would hurt restaurants by incentivizing them to lower their prices. MRA Director of Government Affairs Jessica L. Muradian said restaurants are instead “looking for real changes that will help them with the challenges that they are having running their businesses.”
And owners and staff at Cambridge bars and restaurants were split on reviving happy hour, though some said they would benefit from the extra business.
“It’s better to get the restaurant full all day than getting a dinner rush,” said David T. Oshima, the chef and owner of Harvard Square restaurant and bar Charlie’s Kitchen.
While the current legislative effort to reintroduce happy hour to Massachusetts has stalled on Beacon Hill, the proposal has reopened a debate over the state’s unusually strict alcohol laws, the health of its restaurant industry, and how best to bring a dose of vibrancy to what many described as a dull nightlife in Cambridge and Boston.
‘Economic Deadweight’ or Safety Measure?
Cyr, a Democrat from Cape Cod, has advocated for repealing the bans since he first took office in 2017, saying that it will result in economic gains for the state.
“In the wake of COVID-19 and the shift to remote work, our local restaurants and bars are looking for ways to bring back foot traffic and strengthen our main streets and downtowns,” Cyr wrote in a statement to The Crimson. “This legislation would have allowed cities and towns the choice to enable happy hour and make the right call for their communities.”
The bill, which forbids the selling of discounted drinks and other similar promotions, was initially enacted in response to concerns about drunk driving, after a 20-year-old woman died in a drunk driving accident in Braintree, Mass. in the early 1980s.
While the relationship between anti-happy hour legislation and adverse effects of alcohol is unclear, according to the National Institute of Health, multiple studies have suggested that happy hours do increase alcohol consumption and its negative consequences.
But Cyr argues that safety concerns about happy hour are no longer as prevalent.
“Much has changed since Massachusetts first enacted its happy hour ban in 1984,” Cyr wrote. “Across the country, alcohol-related offenses are on the decline, and there’s little evidence to suggest that happy hour directly contributes to an increase in DUIs. Yet Massachusetts remains the only state with a total ban on happy hour.”
A 2021 bill to lift the ban also argued that there was a correlation between economic loss and the implementation of the 1984 ban.
“This Act negates the ban on ‘Happy Hour’ in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. Happy Hour prohibitions have proven ineffective at deterring drunk driving and result in economic deadweight loss to states, businesses, and consumers,” the measure stated.
But Muradian claimed there is widespread opposition among Massachusetts restaurants to the reinstatement of happy hours, largely on economic grounds.
“There’s thousands of independently-owned restaurants all over the Commonwealth that don't want to see this happen. We hear from independent restaurant owners on a daily basis," Muradian said.
Muradian added the MRA does not want to support a measure that could “hurt” business owners.
“They’re not looking to lower the price of a good that they’re making money off of,” she said.
However, not all Cambridge restaurant owners follow this line of thinking.
‘Race to the Bottom’
Oshima, the owner of Charlie’s Kitchen, said happy hour would allow establishments “to draw in a different kind of crowd.”
Restaurants can work around the happy hour ban by offering promotions on food instead. Discounts on alcohol are also allowed if they are kept in place for a full calendar week, which offers another way for businesses to circumvent the ban.
Oshima said repealing the happy hour ban would allow businesses to attract more students in their promotions.
“There’s ways around it, but it would be a lot nicer if we could advertise a happy hour on shots or beers or something — especially around here, because there’s so many students looking for the best deal,” Oshima said.
Kari M. Kuelzer, owner of Grendel’s Den and The Sea Hag, expressed opposition to happy hour, which she said creates “incentives to binge drink, to drink more, to drink irresponsibly.”
“The idea of discounting strikes me as a race to the bottom in terms of the safety and health of our patrons,” Kuelzer said.
And even though Jason Doo, the owner of Wusong Tiki Bar, supports reinstating happy hour, he said he would likely not utilize it at his own restaurant.
“I don’t believe in the whole race-to-the-bottom-style economics, but I do understand that there’s certain businesses that are surrounded by certain demographics,” he said. “That extra boost of sales during harder periods of operation would be highly beneficial.”
‘Grindset Mindset’
In interviews, Harvard upperclassmen and graduate students largely said they would happily take advantage of discounted drinks, adding that it could address what some have described as the school’s disappointing social scene.
“I’d be way more likely to go out and do things if I knew that there was a happy hour, just because the timing is flexible for students, and also it’s just well within a student budget,” Harvard Kennedy School student Ana-Sofia González said.
Other students echoed similar sentiment and identified the price of drinks at restaurants and bars compared to stores as a barrier to going out.
“I think it prevents people from wanting to go support local businesses,” HKS student Alex P. Santangelo said.
However, HKS student Alex Y.C. Yang said that even with discounted drinks, transportation costs would remain a barrier to taking advantage of happy hour.
“I think one of the biggest issues we face is with transportation,” Yang said.
Annika K. Gagnon ’25 said even if happy hour was available, students would continue to prioritize a “grindset mindset” over going out to bars.
“I think that the thing that is getting in between Harvard students having a good social life is Harvard students themselves,” Gagnon said. “There’s so many opportunities to go out and do things in Boston. We live right next to this awesome city, but I think that there’s such a grindset mindset here, that even if happy hour was a think, Harvard students wouldn’t utilize it.”
But Sofia M. Giannuzzi ’25 said happy hour would be an opportunity to promote students going to social events.
“I think this campus is in need of more social events that students can go to to meet and talk to one another, and I think happy hour would be a good sort of conduit,” Giannuzzi said.
Harvard Law School student Mana K. Javadi added that happy hour comes at a convenient time for students.
“We have a lot of school activities and work that ends around the normal happy hour time,” she said. “So often times we’re looking for something to do with friends or coworkers or colleagues right after, and it’s that awkward time where it’s not dinner yet.”
For other Harvard students, the lack of a happy hour hasn’t made much of an impact on their college experience.
“Maybe, had there been one, maybe that would have changed a lot of my college experience,” Connor R. Gibson ’25 said. “But as of right now, no, it doesn’t feel like it played a huge role,” he said.
Multiple students said that bars are not a major part of the Harvard social scene because many students cannot go out to bars until senior year due to the legal drinking age.
“I don’t know that there is much of a bar scene to be spoken for, or at least not before senior year,” Jack G. Towers ’25 said. “You’re not 21, so it doesn’t really make a difference.”
‘A Lot Slower’
Complaints about the social scene in Cambridge and Boston extend far beyond the lack of happy hour. Residents highlighted a complete lack of nightlife, especially compared to other cities.
“At the Law School, at least, I feel like when we want a good weekend of nightlife, we almost always go to New York,” Javadi said.
Matthew P. Tetrault, the head bartender at Wusong Tiki Bar, said nightlife in the area is “very flat” and highlighted a number of differences between Boston and cities such as New York.
“You go to places like New York, places are open till 2 a.m., 3 a.m., 4 a.m., all over,” he said. “A large part of it has to do with effective public transportation.”
Massachusetts law prohibits the sale of alcohol after 2 a.m. That law, combined with the fact that most MBTA trains stop running at about 1 a.m., contributes to a sense that the city’s nightlife leaves something to be desired.
“Bars and clubs aren’t open very late here,” Towers said. “So by the time you actually get up and get there, they might close in an hour or two.”
Caren R.M. Yap, an HKS student, said nightlife is primarily confined to downtown Boston.
“I think there’s a real lack of nightlife, specifically, more in the Cambridge, Somerville area, but especially in Greater Boston,” she said. “If you’re not downtown, I think it’s difficult.”
Tetrault said while implementing happy hour would be a “nice start” to revitalizing a social scene, it would not solve the problem on its own.
“Increasing the amount of liquor licenses and decreasing the cost to get a liquor license is a great start,” he said, also calling to make “public transportation run at later hours and just more accessible in general.”
For now, Harvard students and Cambridge residents are stuck with the lackluster nightlife.
“I lived in New Orleans, Nashville, New York, all of which have a lot more extensive nightlife,” said Palmer N. Montalbano, a former master’s student at Harvard Medical School. “I find Boston, in comparison to those cities, a lot slower.”