Showing up to find seating before 8:30 p.m. for Woodstock’s Pizza in Davis’ Trivia Night may no longer be enough to guarantee a spot.
Starting Thursday, Woodstock’s Trivia Night will begin at 10 p.m. Those under 21 can still take part, but will have to answer questions from upstairs while listening to the hosts through a speaker system.
Dee Clark, the Davis Woodstock’s general manager, said the changes to Trivia make it easier for alcohol control, as the restaurant just got their full liquor license. The new liquor license became effective yesterday.
Up until this week, in Trivia’s three-year history, all participants could inhabit the half of Woodstock’s that houses the bar and seating area for Trivia starting at 9 p.m. The format of Trivia will remain the same, still around an hour and a half long and free of charge.
There are several types of liquor licenses for restaurants, ranging from a type 40 to a type 47, according to Paul Fuentes, the Sacramento district administrator for the California Alcohol and Beverage Control (ABC).
According to Fuentes, type 40 is the cheapest, costing $1,000-$3,000, and includes only serving beer at the bar. He said type 47, which Woodstock’s now holds, costs about $15,000 and allows restaurants to serve beer, wine, and liquor. Liquor licenses must be renewed yearly for a lower fee.
Woodstock’s Bar Manager Justin Byrd said that for several years the restaurant has been receiving requests from their customer base wanting an expanded alcohol list. Woodstock’s began pursuing the full liquor license about a year and a half ago and they won the new license from a lottery, Byrd said.
Cocktails will be allowed on the restaurant side of the restaurant, but not upstairs. He added that with a greater range of types of alcohol, there’s greater liability having mixed aged groups in the bar section.
“We want to make sure it’s a safe and lawful environment,” Byrd said.
Dr. Andy Jones, UC Davis lecturer, talk show host and poet, hosted Bistro 33’s quiz night before it was shut down this past year. He said he believes Bistro 33 used changing their banquet room into a bar as an excuse to end their comedy and poetry nights, as well as their pub quiz. He now hosts trivia at de Vere’s Irish Pub.
“It’s a shame that Woodstock’s will have to segregate older and younger teams,” Jones said in an e-mail. “De Vere’s Irish Pub begins its Pub Quiz at 7 p.m. for a variety of reasons, including to allow people of different ages to play together.
“One diehard Pub Quiz team that includes a prominent religious studies professor and a local pharmacist also includes a straight-A student from Davis High. Because of this range in ages, this team can answer questions about the planet Mars, the Roman god Mars, and Bruno Mars. Visiting Ireland, you will see entire families dining and drinking together in neighborhood pubs, often with children running underfoot,” he said.
“While strictly observing state and federal alcohol laws, de Vere’s seeks to make its Irish Pub a comfortable place for people of all ages … We also like to appeal to students who have morning classes, and to post-graduates who have jobs,” Jones said.
According Fuentes, there are no official additional restrictions for those who possess a full liquor license. He did say that restaurants might choose to include benchmarks, such as carding on the bar side of a restaurant at 10 p.m., because it’s easier to get intoxicated with harder types of alcohol causing higher liability.
Clark said the later time will allow customers to have dinner and there will be less overlap between dinner-goers at Woodstock’s and Trivia players.
“Having the liquor license also allows us to increase the menu items for late-night customers,” Clark said. “I don’t want customers to have to go elsewhere to satisfy different wants for large groups.”
Senior film studies major Rachel Hellman, who often attends Trivia, said having Trivia later gives her more time to get there.
“I imagine that Woodstock’s is holding their trivia night later to accommodate diners who wish to enjoy some pizza without the racket of trivia questions being posed over a loudspeaker,” Jones said. “Restaurants also make more money from alcohol sales than from food sales.”
20-year-old Carolyne Cohen, a junior psychology major, said she goes to Trivia about every other week and thinks the changes will hurt Woodstock’s business a lot because it’s one of the only under-21 trivias in town.
Junior English and design double major Brittany Nelson turns 21 in October and shared the same sentiments as Cohen.
“It’s a bummer,” Nelson said. “Playing upstairs seems like it’s exclusive for the under 21 group. I enjoyed going to Trivia as something to do other than going to the bars. Hopefully my friends will be willing to go upstairs with me.”
“I would still buy pizza, so they’ll lose that sale,” she said.
Other trivia nights in town include Sophia’s Thai Kitchen’s 10 p.m. Tuesday night trivia for those over 21. It’s a one drink minimum for each player. The Graduate has a free Sunday quiz night at 7 p.m. KetMoRee’s trivia is for all ages and starts Wednesdays at 9:30 p.m.
ANGELA SWARTZ can be reached at city@theaggie.org.
Plenty of times when my large group of friends was deciding which bar to go to, and ruled out Woodstocks because they’re beer only. I’m sure this will help business… not hurt it.