The COVID-19 pandemic changed the way we socialize, at least for a time. How did it affect the Cotati Crawl, the longtime Thursday bar night so popular with Sonoma State University students? The Press Democrat went to find out.
The pandemic hurt a lot of small businesses and restaurants in Sonoma County, and the bars along Old Redwood Highway in Cotati that play host to the Cotati Crawl were not immune. Friar Tuck’s Pub closed in 2021, and Tradewinds shut down indoor service for 10 months.
Still, on a chilly Thursday night in late February, college students filtered in and out of Eight Ball, Tradewinds and Spancky’s Bar along Old Redwood Highway as blaring dance music and hip-hop echoed down the street.
“I do feel like it has become a little safer and maybe more calm,” said Chase Myers, a co-owner of Tradewinds. “I don’t know if that’s due to less amount of people coming out, or maybe it’s just the new generation. … But it definitely still has the same atmosphere, the same vibe. Kids coming out, having fun, getting together with all their friends and meeting new people.”
While there’s no clear beginning or end to the Crawl, the night seemed to start at Spancky’s. Students were packed inside, playing pool and dancing under lights flashing in all directions.
“I am convinced it’s a bit louder,” said SSU fall semester graduate Corey O’Driscoll about the difference between the pre-pandemic Crawl and now.
“It’s more set up to see people from a long time ago,” he said as he leaned against a patio fence outside of Spancky’s.
O’Driscoll called this a “nostalgic meeting place” for him and his college friends from freshman year who now live in Petaluma and Santa Rosa.
Outside Tradewinds, two friends spotted each other on the sidewalk. They both squealed excitedly, “Oh my god, hi!” and jumped into a hug.
“It helps people reconnect with others and gives students a sense of community and a social experience that they’ve been lacking for so long,” wrote fourth-year student Dana Scacco in a text message.
By 11:30 p.m., Tradewinds was packed with dancing students and the line to get into Eight Ball rounded the corner.
“The Crawl can be fun, but it can also be really chaotic because so many students go,” Scacco texted. “In my experience, it’s best to go with a solid group of friends that you really trust.”
O’Driscoll said that since Friar Tuck’s Pub closed in 2021, the rest of the Crawl bars seem more crowded.
He’s right.
Traci Thompson, whose husband, Dan Thompson, and son, Myers, own Tradewinds, said now that students have one fewer bar to visit, their bar’s foot traffic has nearly doubled, a welcome sight after the pandemic-fueled shutdown.
Dan said the shutdown gave them time to regroup and focus on becoming a college favorite.
They’ve changed to doing events all weekend and focusing more on safety, especially on Thursday nights. The bar now leaves its lights on an hour after close so there’s a place for students to wait for rides home.
Owners and managers at the three Crawl bars also communicate more with each other regarding intoxicated students or students with fake IDs.
“Without (students) being safe, we’re not going to be successful,” Dan said.
In an effort to set Tradewinds apart, the owners have started hosting karaoke Fridays, Bachata dances on Wednesdays and a live DJ on Thursdays playing Top 40 music.
“What’s unique about the Crawl is that Spancky’s does a lot of live music, we’ve become a karaoke dance club and Eight Ball has a lot of people that go play pool and hang out,” Dan said.
“It’s not just Thursday night. Wednesday through Sunday, each bar has their own little niche,” Dan said.
Tradewinds’ Myers, who also works as the bar’s general manager and serves drinks, also has noticed changes in students’ drinking patterns.
“White Claws have gone pretty much dismal,” he said, laughing, about the popularity of the hard seltzer in 2019 and early 2020. From what he’s seen, sour drinks and Jäger bombs are among the drinks on the rise.
“Cocktails you wouldn’t have made in the past are resurfacing, and something that you really weren’t making much of is now just being ordered by the plethora. So it’s funny to see how their tastes have changed,” he said.
The college tradition is alive and well, and the remaining bars are figuring out how to build the momentum and stay in businesses.
“I don’t think it can truly be its original vibrancy,” Myers said. “I mean, you think of the Cotati Crawl (and) you think about hitting the four main bars, and now you’re obviously without one. But I think that the atmosphere is still there, the presence of the kids and everything is still there.”
“Each bar works with each other; we’ve all survived the storm,” Dan said. “We’re happy that all three of us survived.”
