There’s something special about a truly late night in St. Louis.
In a different era of my life, I’d walk from my Dogtown apartment to Par Lounge, under the glow of the giant Amoco sign on Clayton Avenue. Hi-Pointe Theatre staff would haul in a garbage bag of popcorn as the movie theater closed down, and things would get weirder (and tipsier) as the night wore into the early hours. Later still, and after the bartenders got tired of us, we’d head to Courtesy Diner on Hampton Avenue.
Par and that Courtesy location are still open. But so many late-night hangs and bars with 3 a.m. liquor licenses are closing shop earlier — if they’re still open at all — and a recent decision by the Alton City Council means that at least 13 more bars in the Metro East won’t be serving past 1 a.m. soon…