nightlife

Boston's Nightlife Rebounding Faster Than Any Other Major US City: Credit Card Data

College students are back, the workforce is heading out to dinner, and Boston's nightlife is looking up after the pandemic slump

NBC Universal, Inc.

Boston's nightlife appears to be rebounding at a faster pace than any other major U.S. city, according to new numbers from the cloud payment company Square, obtained exclusively by NBC10 Boston.

New York City and Miami may boast the biggest share of overall late-night spending in bars and restaurants, but Boston has some nightlife bragging rights too.

 When you look at the share of payments made between 7 p.m. and 4 a.m., the Hub had the highest growth this year.

“Boston closes at 2 a.m, whereas New York doesn’t close.  So this is actually a pretty impressive shift,” said Bryan Solar, the general manager of restaurants at Square.

Hannah Donnelly gives us a few tips on how to remain safe when experiencing the nightlife in Boston.

The company measured millions of transactions in bars and restaurants across 13 cities between the hours of 7 p.m. and 4 a.m. They compared sales January through August of 2021 to those in the same period this year.  In Boston, sales went from 23% to 32%. That’s growth of 41%.  San Francisco came in second place with overall nightlife growth of 28%.

WHAT EXPLAINS THE SURGE?

Stephen Clark, president and CEO of the Massachusetts Restaurant Association and Solar point out what might be obvious: we were still operating under strict COVID restrictions in parts of 2021. 

“People have truly valued what they missed during the pandemic,” said Clark. 

Solar agrees.  “There was a lot of pent-up demand. People spent a year in their homes and now they want to go back, and they want to have that night out with their friends.”

Both agree that most people feel much more comfortable going out. While college students are going out and spending money again, it’s not just the students who are back.  It’s the downtown workforce - with a bit of a twist.

“We’re seeing higher numbers in the city on Wednesday and Thursday nights,” said Clark. “And I think there's a direct correlation to when people are working in the city. They're actually dining out on Wednesday night and Thursday night rather than the traditional Friday night.

CHALLENGES STILL ON THE MENU

Restaurateurs in the city are hoping to see more Monday and Friday night business. But there is another weak spot.   

"Where we are struggling is we're not seeing the lunch crowd,” said Clark.   He cites three big challenges in the Massachusetts restaurant industry overall:  Inflation, supply chain issues and continued labor shortages.

On May 29, Gov. Baker lifted all COVID-19 restrictions in the state of Massachusetts, allowing the nightlife in Boston to make a come back. NBC10 Boston documented the reopening of nightlife in Boston over the summer. In this 3-part series, we will continue to follow the nightlife scene through the fall and winter.

For now, according to the Massachusetts Restaurant Association, people are willing to pay higher prices. Whether that changes if we go into a recession remains to be seen.  Restaurants may be raking in more bucks,  but the profit margins are actually getting smaller due to the high cost of everything these days.

What’s clear from the Square survey is that people are coming back. And for now, they are willing to pay.

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