Are you looking for a night out in San Antonio, Texas but don't want to avoid the typical college crowd? You may be in luck. Two bars in the city have recently implemented a higher age limit for entry, meaning that those under 21 may not be able to get in. But what does this mean for the city's nightlife?Just down the street, in Phil's Crummy Corner, Brooklyn, the minimum age to enter the Puerto Rican restaurant and sports bar on weekend nights has been raised to 25 due to complaints from the neighborhood about noise. This is not an uncommon practice, as many bars across the country have similar policies.
However, two San Antonio bars are blazing a new trail by limiting their customers to those whose prefrontal cortex is fully developed. Bentley's Bar, a thriving drinking destination north of Alamo Heights, changed its age of admission to 25 or more just two months ago. This is despite its sister bar, Bentley's Beer Garden, located in the center of the city, continuing to admit anyone over the legal drinking age. Chris Porter, public information officer for the Texas Alcoholic Beverage Commission, said that there is nothing stopping bars from increasing their age limits. Randall Erben, an adjunct professor at the University of Texas School of Law at Austin, said that unless bars are owned by a government entity, there can basically be no cases of discrimination.
San Antonio's pubs and clubs have recovered strongly since Texas Governor Greg Abbott allowed bars to reopen and do not agree with the idea of raising their age limits. It is hard to imagine many bar owners voluntarily giving up the easy money they can earn from drinkers in their mid-twenties. On my twenty-first birthday I stumbled into a university bar with a friend wearing a large polyester carrot costume. I thought about that night and the many that followed when I read about Bentley's on Broadway increasing its age limit. It could be easy to read this as the beginnings of a trend but it is too early to tell. The decision by two bars in San Antonio to raise their age limit has sparked debate about whether this could become a trend across other cities in Texas and beyond.
While it is too early to tell if this will become a widespread practice, it is clear that more bars are considering raising their age limits as a way to reduce noise complaints and attract an older crowd. The decision by these two bars has also raised questions about whether this could lead to discrimination against younger people who are legally allowed to drink but not allowed into certain establishments. While there are no laws preventing bars from raising their age limits, it is important for bar owners to consider how this could affect their business and whether it could lead to any legal issues. Overall, it is too early to tell if raising age limits will become a trend across other cities in Texas and beyond. However, it is clear that more bars are considering raising their age limits as a way to reduce noise complaints and attract an older crowd. It is important for bar owners to consider how this could affect their business and whether it could lead to any legal issues before making any changes.
