Ladies Night

Ladies Night, Wednesday, Feb 1st. at the Downtown Bar from 9pm until close.  Happy hour prices for all the ladies!

Drinks and Dinner

Friday night is a great night to take your date out for dinner in our wonderful city of Pueblo, Colorado.  There are many great restaurants in town, but less of them have a full service bar area associated with them and therefore no happy hour.  A couple of drinks on an empty stomach before a nice dinner out on the town is something I've really grown to appreciate.  A mild buzz during dinner heightens your palette's senses and creates great conversation with your date.  If you time your happy hour excursion right, you can drink for less, then spend more on food. Here is a list of the best places to mix Happy Hour with dinner in Pueblo.

#1. Mr Tandoori's Urban Bar and Grill 
The new kid on the block has lived up to all of it's expectations.  Good food, great atmosphere (especially in the summer on the best patio in town), a nice selection of Indian beers, plus a full bar. 

#2 Park East
Quaint neighborhood fine-dining, specializes in martinis and classy cocktails.  Great dinner and happy hour specials throughout the week.

#3 Shamrock Brewing Company
Their food is a step up from "just pub food" and it's the only micro-brew pub in town.

#4 Toni and Joe's Pizzaria
Pizza and beer....they do it right.  The location is great to sit near the window and people watch in the Mesa Junction.

#5 The Broadway Tavern
It's "just pub food", but it's damn good pub food.

Take Candy From and Talk to Strangers

Sexually bumping and grinding on your trashed and hopeful hook-up at 2 am on the dance floor is definately one of the more common ways to meet someone at a bar, but does it ever really materialize into anything more than a hook up?
Being single and meeting people in Pueblo isn't something that is natural.  The same South, East, Central and County cliques still exist years after high school is over.  Many people have never left town, therefore have never had to experience the difficulties of making new friends or finding a potential girlfriend or boyfriend without the assistance of their life long inner circle. 
One of my favorite reasons for traveling or getting out of town is that I can walk into a bar where nobody knows my name, what I do, or who I am "suppose" to be.  I don't recommend stretching your profession from janitor to doctor, but breaking out of your own stereotypes on occasion is something very healthy.  If you look like Homer Simpson and are trying to pull off George Clooney, that may not fly, but not having to be the shy girl because that's what all your friends expect is an easy transition in a new bar where you are free to be whoever you want to be.  It also promotes meeting new people and practicing your conversation skills, something that nearly everyone in Pueblo could afford to sharpen up on.
Happy Hour at new and unknown bar is the perfect time and place to branch out of comfort zone and talk to strangers without the connotations of a pick up.  Buying someone a drink is only going to set you back $2 instead of $8 and your chances of striking up a conversation with someone who has been drinking for the past 5 hours is statistically less.  The Happy Hour crowd is usually at a bar to have a couple of drinks after work and generally are more open to conversation than the "going clubbing crowd".   Sure, you may find the drunk since noon guy attempting to pay for his drink with pocket lint, nickles and dimes, but for the most part the happy hour crowd is a good bunch.
My suggestion, pick a random happy hour bar from the LISTINGS section, invite a friend, leave the attitude at home, strike up a conversation with a stranger, buy a round cheap happy hour drinks, and maybe you'll end up making a new friend.  At a minimum you'll leave the bar with a fresh experience and a good buzz.

Pueblo's best micro-brew Happy Hours

Not everyone is content sipping on a Corona, Coors, PBR or Budweiser.   A slightly more refined palette may prefer a stout, porter, winter ale, or IPA to cap off a long hard work day.  For some people, a strong dark stout on a cold and blustery day is the only thing that can make them forget how crappy their boss is. If the words hops, wood-aged, mead, barley wine, and dubbel mean absolutely nothing to you, check out this Beer Guide to get your foot in the door, then stop in to one of the following bars and start experimenting.
Here are the Top 3 Pueblo Happy Hours spots for obtaining a quality micro-brew or import.

#1 The Downtown Bar
From young professionals to punk rock kids, The Downtown Bar has created an eclectic environment in which to drink high quality beers.  From 7pm-8pm Wednesday through Saturday, all premium micros will only set you back 2 bones.

#2 Shamrock Brewing Company
More than just and Irish St. Patty's Day bar, beers at the Shamrock are brewed on location, so you know they are as fresh as they come.  If you're Irish, or just into drinking, Shamrock's lengthy Happy Hour from
3pm- 6pm Monday through Friday can surely wash away any work or class memories you may have lingering and may even erase your memory completely.

#3 Cock & Bull
As cozy as they come, in this English Pub you can belly up to the Ye' Ole bar, gather around a big table with your co-workers, curl up next to your chap on the sofa and enjoy a few imports and micros.  Happy hours are Monday through Saturday 4pm -7pm

Pueblo Saturdays are for drinking

One thing I was unaware of before researching Pueblo Happy Hour days and times, was the prevalence of Saturday and weekend happy hours.  Happy hours are normally designated to the mid-week after work crowd, but many Pueblo bars prefer to keep their clientele happy even on weekends. Here is my quick list of the Top 5 Saturday Happy Hour bars in Pueblo.

#1 Cock & Bull
Either as a way to end your Saturday shopping or a way to start your Saturday night festivities on Union, the Cock & Bull has a Saturday happy hour that any frugal drinker will love from 4pm - 7pm.

#2 Park East
 After a relaxing Saturday picnicking or playing a round of disc golf in City Park, Park East is a great place to grab an upscale Saturday cocktail at a discounted price during happy hour from 4pm-6:30pm.

#3 Shorty's Backyard
Equipped with outdoor sand volleyball court's, Shorty's is the place to work for and earn your drinks.  Play volleyball all day Saturday, then starting at 9:30pm, 2-for1's will heal your wounds and make tales of diving plays and spikes on the court, that much more memorable. 

#4 Pirate's Cove
Pirate's Cove is the dance friendly capital of Pueblo, but dancing is much more enjoyable after a couple of spirit lifting drinks first.  Saturday happy hour at the Cove is from 6pm-8pm.

#5 The Broadway Tavern
The Broadway is a great little neighborhood bar in the Mesa Junction across from Pueblo's fantastic library.  On a rainy or snowy Saturday, grab yourself a copy of The Monkey Wrench Gang from the library and walk on over for a beer or whiskey at the Broadway and dream of the warming desert.  Saturday happy hours from 4pm-7pm.

Happy Hour Origins

It shouldn’t surprise you that the term “Happy Hour” originated in the United States Navy. Back in the 1920’s, the term was slang for the scheduled time of on-ship performances when the sailors were a little “happy” from drinking.
However, the act of drinking before dinnertime began around the same time on-shore due to the Prohibition. Friends would gather for illegal cocktail hours at speakeasies before they went out to eat since restaurants could not serve alcohol. In 1959, an article featuring military life in the Saturday Evening Post made the term more mainstream.
Over time, happy hour has transitioned from a prelude to an evening out into more of an after-work ritual. Since the 1980’s, most bars offer free or discounted appetizers to attendees, attempting to curb drunk driving.
While happy hour has suffered some controversy and has actually been banished in certain countries and states, it still exists around the globe albeit as somewhat of a marketing ploy.
Visit almost any restaurant or bar between 4pm and 7pm on a weekday and you are likely to find drink and food specials to take the edge off a long day at the office!

The Beginning

This site is a work in progress.  It will be a combination of a blog about nightlife in general, Pueblo reviews, free promotion of happy hours, and a way to get people out to try new bars around town.  Listings of general happy hours will stay consistent, but if a bar wants to promote a daily special via this blog and through our Facebook site, it will be updated daily.  If you are a bar owner, or loyal patron of a bar that knows Happy Hour times, please contact me.  It will be much appreciated.  Check back in a week or so, and I hope to have more completed.

January 24th - Shorty's Backyard

2 for 1 premium pints 7pm until 10pm

January 16th - Downtown Bar

Martini Mondays - Buy one get one 1/2 off