With this guide, you can know how to act at 1020.

Q: Who is allowed to sit at the couches?

A: Anyone! First come first serve.

Q: How do you claim a booth?

A: You can wait for someone to leave and pounce, or you can find a booth with 1-2 people and ask if you can join them. If you choose the latter, you can either befriend the original inhabitants or be as loud and obnoxious as you can until they leave.

Q: Where am I supposed to put my coat?

A: There is a coat rack by the men’s bathroom, but there’s no guarantee that your coat will still be there when you come back for it. I recommend just holding onto it.

Q: Should I befriend the bartenders? 

A: Yes! If you go to 1020 anytime on a weekday or before peak hour on the weekend, the full-time bartenders will be there. During weekend peak hours, student bartenders are usually there. They are all great people!

Q: Will that help me get free drinks?

A: Maybe, but that shouldn’t be your reason for befriending the bartenders and you shouldn’t feel entitled to free drinks because you know them.

Q: Why are the bathrooms the way they are?

A: They are better bathrooms than any dive bar bathroom I’ve been to downtown. The location might seem illogical when the bar is packed, but if you go during off-peak hours, you’ll see that it’s fine where it is. Besides, where else could they put it?

Q: How can you get the bartender’s attention?

A: During peak hours, keep in mind that the bartenders each have like 20 other people trying to get their attention at once. Push through the couples making out and get to the bar, then send telepathy at them until they come to you.

Q: Do they have a movie schedule or playlist?

A: They usually play movies that can be watched with the sound off (action movies, old mafia movies, crime movies, etc.) – “nothing too cerebral,” as a woman sitting at the bar said when I went to ask. Otherwise, it’s completely random. No schedule, no playlist.

Q: How close can you sit next to a stranger on the bench/couch area in the back without being rude? 

A: There are two situations in which it’s socially acceptable to sit right next to a stranger: if you’re interested, and if it’s completely packed. Otherwise, leave at least one seat between you and the stranger for personal space.

Q: How hard can I push someone?

A: Hard enough to push past to get where you’re going, but not hard enough to spill their drink.

Q: What are the best drinks?

A: Yuengling is cheap ($4) and a lot better than PBR, so if you’re trying to get a beer, it’s a good bang for your buck. The cider is Stella, so it’s more expensive ($6) but I like it a lot. Apparently, if you’re on a diet, a vodka club is the way to go, but it tastes like watered down vodka. It’s so gross. If you’re trying to get wasted and make some bad decisions, get a Long Island Iced Tea. If you want a generic drink that doesn’t taste too much like alcohol to sip on, you have your vodka cran, vodka sour, whiskey sour, gin and tonic (bottom shelf gin, of course!), etc. If you’re trying to buy shots, you’re dumb; why didn’t you take shots at the pregame?

Q: Why is 1020 better than Mel’s? 

A: Because you’ll find me there on any given weekend night.

If you have any other questions, leave a comment or email youngweon@bwog.com and we will add it to the post.

1020 via Bwog Archives