Party Poopers
City ordinance means no ringing in the New Year at Gallup bars

Club Zen head bartender Crystal Fierro cracks open a beer for Patrick Lekity at Club Zen on Friday night. All the city bars will be closed on Sunday even though it's New Years Eve because to a city ordinance. [Photo by Matt Hinshaw/Independent]

By Natasha Kaye Johnson
Diné Bureau

GALLUP — For those looking for a hoppin' place to party it up on New Year's Eve in Gallup, you're out of luck.

This year, the holiday falls on a Sunday. And for those who aren't familiar with the law, it's illegal for alcohol to be sold in Gallup on Sunday.

While it may be a disappointment to some people hoping to ring the New Year in at their favorite local watering hole, it doesn't seem to bother local bar owners.

"Oh well," said Art Diaz, owner of Pal Joey's Lounge. "It's the law."

From what local bar owners have heard, many people are leaving town to celebrate the New Year elsewhere. But that doesn't bother Diaz.

"It's the first time I don't have to keep the bar open," he said.

Some local bar owners and bartenders predict that people will spend Saturday stocking up for the celebration, or that establishments such as El Sabino and the Mustang station south of town or the Mustang station at Dead Horse will be raking in business on Sunday. Most don't expect an unusually high turnout on Saturday from people wanting to celebrate early.

Several bar managers in town said that regular "bargoers" already are fully aware of the law, and they haven't received any objections or complaints.

"That's just how the cards came up this year," said John, a bartender at the Tropics bar, who declined to give his last name. "It just comes up that way every seven years."

Most bars around town will not be doing an early celebration to compensate for the holiday.

Tiffany Hsu, owner of Club Zen, on the other hand, plans to go all out for her customers wanting to celebrate an early New Year's. Hsu said she is extremely disappointed that the day landed on Sunday, especially since it's the club's first year open.

To try to compensate, the Club is hosting an early New Year's Eve bash on Saturday night, where employees will be passing out champagne at the door, giving out door prizes, and even doing a "fake" countdown. Though Hsu said it will not be the same, she is going to try to make it as fun and entertaining as they can for their customers.

"It's hard to celebrate New Year's Eve when it's not New Year's Eve," said Hsu. "I'm just hoping we get a decent crowd and hopefully everyone will enjoy it."