Ten bucks to get into your bar? A rant.
I rolled into the parking lot outside of "Club" Habanos last Friday night for the first time in a couple months. I went to the doorman and asked if they were charging a cover. He responded that it was $10.
Ten bucks?!??! Seriously.
See, I know that sometimes (weekends, mostly) Habanos charges a cover of $5. And that's why I don't go there those days. But I was with my buddy Erik, he'd never been there, we were trying to think of a place to hang out and we ended up at Habanos.
Still -- $10?
What am I paying for? The right to go inside your bar? To spend more money? To maybe, if I'm lucky, find a place to sit down? To listen to the jukebox? Come on. For $10 I could get a 12-pack, call over a bunch of friends, put my iPod on blast and have a good time.
I'm categorically against a few things in life: Men talking to each other in the bathroom. The New York Yankees. And paying to get into a bar.
A club? Sure. If there's a DJ and a dance floor, that justifies a cover. If a band is playing? Yep, a cover charge is cool with me. But just to come in and pay more money to drink your already marked-up booze? Psst! Yeah right.
And in Fresno no less?
What, because Habanos stuck "Club" in front of its name I should be impressed and give them $10?
Now, maybe things have changed tremendously since the last time I was in Habanos. Maybe there's a dance floor. Maybe it's not just a couple crammed rooms anymore. Heck, maybe Jimi Hendrix and 2Pac are playing every weekend. If so, I take it all back. Somehow I doubt it.
There are numerous other places in town -- not to mention in a two-mile radius -- to get a drink without paying a cover charge.
Erik and I didn't even have to discuss anything when we heard a $10 cover. He's a man of principle, too. We just turned around and headed back to his car.
Erik, genius that he is, asked how a place like Habano's can justify charging a cover when Fresno's gentleman's club (and I use that term loosely) City Lights doesn't even charge a cover.
Amen, Erik.
A-freakin'-men!
Or women.
Or something.
Comments:
Agreed, a $10 for Club Habanos is steep...Were they including the cost of cigar ? Also, regarding the dreaded lower case "i" in front of a product name, well I think that it has become the new version of "X"treme...Marketing, GAG !
Posted by: Bryan at January 11, 2007 3:20 PM
Mike Oz I agree with you 100%
When I went a couple months ago & my boyfriend heard it was 10 bucks he stared at the bouncer, looked back at me and said "yah...lets go to Jack in the Box and then head back to [insert friends name here] home".
Club Habanos isn't going to continue getting great businses for charging customers like it's LA.
Posted by: Jessica at January 11, 2007 3:57 PM
Yeah. Why pay a ridiculous $10 cover charge when I can go to your house and drink up all your booze fo' free?
Posted by: Heather at January 11, 2007 4:07 PM
Let this be a lesson to all the boys and girls. When in doubt, always go to the strip club first... HOORAY BOOBIES!!
Posted by: raymond at January 11, 2007 4:07 PM
Amen Ray! Amen!
Posted by: Abe at January 11, 2007 9:16 PM
Well said my friend. I won't pay for a DJ either. Live bands only and that's a rule I will never bend.
Were there people in there?? haha geeze.
I agree with Heather even if I didn't make it to your house over the holidays.
Cel and I enjoy the once a year visit to City Lights. Always a fun time.
Posted by: Geanie at January 12, 2007 10:15 AM
A club like habanos in San Diego, with charging ANY cover, would go under in no less than 2 weeks... What are they charging a cover for; ambiance? size? ummmm, yeah I can't figure it out.
Posted by: Derek at January 18, 2007 1:54 PM
I wouldn't pay 50 cents to get into "Club" Habanos. Paaaaaleeeze. They need to drive around for a few hours and remember where they are. This is Fresno for the love of pete.
Posted by: C at January 23, 2007 2:49 AM
March-
They still haven't learned. We had about twenty people in a stretch navigator limo for a friends b-day. We went to lots of "Club-Bar-Liquor Stores" and were having a great time BEFORE we pulled up to Habanos. Once again, a $10 cover. With this many people (we can party too) we were ready to pull up to the bar (oh, wait...ther's no room) and drop about 900-1000 between all of us. We even tried to reason with the door guy, "we'll fill your cash registers and tip jars. why do you want to rape us for $200 bucks to get in?" This aint freaking Xandadu!!! You got a magical disco in there??? I have heard that what they are trying to do is maintain a "certain type of crowd" in the bar. Evedently the retarded, pay to look good and be cool, but ultimately easy to sucker money out of crowd. I'm with all of you. BYOB to my house or head back over to Livingstone's.
Posted by: ash at March 20, 2007 9:48 AM
Spend the f**kiing money.....stop being a cheap ass that is why fresno dont have s**t now, and you bitches always crying 'bout $10 pay the money bitches or stay home....broke ass...p.s. if you aint got no money take your broke ass home...if you scared go to church...
Posted by: rick james at September 1, 2007 10:01 PM
First, Rick, quit quoting Fergie.
Second, Fresno has plenty going on -- enough that I don't need to pay $10 to get into a bar. Habandos is far from the end-all of Fresno nightlife.
I don't mind spending money to go somewhere.
But first, the place has to be worth it.
Posted by: Mike Oz at September 2, 2007 11:02 AM
Post a comment
(read the comment policy before posting)