Without Fe, where to go?

Since Santa Fe Cafe has been closed, bar-goers left searching for a place to drink say they have taken to packing house parties and the rooms of other downtown bars.

In an area that already has a limited selection of drinking establishments — Thirsty Turtle, R.J. Bentley's, the Mark and Cornerstone Grill and Loft — students and city officials said the impact of Santa Fe's closing has been noticeable. But other downtown business owners said they haven't noticed enough of a difference to confidently attribute crowds to the loss of one bar.

"With Santa Fe closed, there's 300 people roaming around looking for somewhere else to go," the city's Director of Public Services Bob Ryan said.

Students agreed, noting many are trying to cram their way into other bars now that Santa Fe — which had a capacity of almost 450 — is no longer open for business.

"I'd say they're a little bit more crowded," senior operations management major Navid Dardashti said. "Basically it just seems like spillover from Fe being closed. It's been pretty decent getting in, but once you're in, it's packed."

But bar owners say that although business may be booming, they don't attribute their success to one fewer competitor.

"I don't think the crowds have been that massive this year," Thirsty Turtle owner Alan Wanuck said, adding his bar hasn't reached its total capacity of 948 yet this semester.

Cornerstone general manager Brian Lambert and R.J. Bentley's owner John Brown both said their bars have been at full capacity this semester but said the crowds haven't been noticeably larger. Cornerstone and Bentley's have a total capacity of 384 and 299, respectively.

"We're having a good year, but it's hard to read," Brown said. "If it's late night, everybody comes out all at once."

While Brown recognized Santa Fe's closing as an event that left many students looking for alternatives, he maintained the bar's closing had a nominal effect on his own business, citing a number of variables for why patronage could increase.

"With Santa Fe being closed, I'm sure there are people who were going there who are going here," he said. "But it's hard to tell the increase and what it's for. All markets vary. And with the economy, it's hard to compare anything."

According to Ryan, the city has not documented any serious overcrowding at a downtown bar this semester.

He said the city's greatest concern is overcrowding in different sections of some of the bars.

Thirsty Turtle's upper floor holds only 515 people, and the loft at Cornerstone holds only 184. While these limits are harder to enforce, Ryan said bar owners have to make sure patrons do not all crowd into one area, creating what could be a dangerous situation.

Other students are choosing to skip the bars altogether now that Santa Fe — the only bar to consistently feature live music — is closed.

"I definitely go to more house parties than I used to," senior economics major Nick Bulka said. "I used to like the live music at Santa Fe. Now that it's closed, I don't go to the bars that much."

"I've actually been to a lot of house parties as of now," freshman elementary education major Taylor King said. "A couple of my friends have gone to the bar, [but they leave early], probably because it gets crowded pretty quickly."

rhodes@umdbk.com