Thirsty Turtle Update
November 15th, 2006 | by Jesse Blitzstein | Published in Businesses, Downtown | 5 Comments
Students who face lines, crowds, and repetitiveness at the current downtown College Park bars have eagerly awaited the opening of The Thirsty Turtle since the beginning of this fall semester. While nobody knows exactly how long that wait will continue, we at least have some idea why it exists.
We have heard from several sources that The Thirsty Turtle has not opened due to a conflict between the bar owners and the owner of the alley behind the property. Apparently the alley-owner will not allow The Thirsty Turtle to open its back doors to the alley. Without this back exit, the bar does not meet the fire safety requirements that would allow it to reach its several hundred person maximum capacity. Rather, with just the front doors accessible in case of emergency, the bar is only allowed to have about 50 people inside at any one time, simply not enough to do business.
Supposedly The Mark is having similar issues, but having its back doors open to the alley would only increase maximum capacity from about 50 to 100. So, The Mark has been able to operate despite the back-door hurdle.
This conflict is unfortunate. Students in College Park frequently decry the lack of bar options downtown, especially compared to other college towns. In addition, some people will go as far as saying that the reduced crowding more bars would likely produce could have a positive impact on the climate in downtown bars.
November 16th, 2006 at 4:01 am (#)
Thats just asinine, sorry to be blunt, but honestly.
Thats all I have to say.
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November 16th, 2006 at 5:54 pm (#)
It would also be nice to have some venues that are open late, but aren’t the sweat-drenched, ear-damaging concentrates of humanity.
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November 26th, 2006 at 6:45 pm (#)
Isn’t College Perk open all night now? I know they have live bands some nights; is that ever a non-ear damaging late-night venue?
Also, I agree that this is a pretty ridiculous situation. I wonder what the reasoning of the alley-owner is.
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November 27th, 2006 at 12:27 am (#)
College Perk doesn’t have amplified music to the best of my knowledge. There are a number of homes near College Perk, including four rental properties that are part of the College Perk property, that are rented out by Chris Gordon. He may also be renting out the 2nd story of College Perk, too.
The City has a property use agreement with Chris as a result of his obtaining a
liquor liscense.
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November 28th, 2006 at 7:22 pm (#)
[...] Today’s Diamondback article about Santa Fe’s growing reputation as a live music venue reminds us of a gradual trend that we often overlook – College Park’s downtown is actually starting to take on the characteristics of a real College Town. Everyday another store seems to be extending their hours for Thursday, Friday, and Saturday nights, a fifth bar is coming to town (if it ever opens), and the streets are genuinely busy through most of the day. Certainly College Park isn’t what it could be, but what it is today is a far cry from the boarded up storefronts and abandoned gas stations that plagued downtown just a few short years ago. While its not clear exactly what’s responsible for this trend, the completion of the South Campus Commons just up Knox Rd as well as other demographic changing developments in the area must have played a big role. Yes, theres a lot of work yet to be done, but that doesn’t mean students should ignore the small stuff – like a nice midnight burrito. [...]
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