Community after 10PM?

[cityimrov]

I'm looking for places that are still open after 10PM, Midnight, even 1AM that are (besides bars) places which build up community within them.  The place must be very open and friendly that I can talk to the guy seated next to me about stuff and not feel awkward.  At the same time, I also want to go in and rest for a bit without being asked too many questions.   

It would be really great if the people in the place has so much intimacy that the people inside start doing stuff like teaching each other new stuff, creating art, sharing their sewing techniques, showing off their woodworking, or something like that. 

Just some place to hang out after 10PM.  Anyone have any good places? 

[Garden guy]

Fuel? for a while at least..greatly missed though.

[letters and numbers]

Hey you know 3layers a coffee house is open till 11 PM some days and I have enjoyed it

[Dog Walker]

I think that 5 Points Coffee and Spice on Lomax St. is open until 3AM.

[AntigoneStarr]

Shame Fuel is no longer...

But, asides from bars, Three Layers stays open a bit later than most. Five Points Coffee and Spice is open til 3am on a regular basis. And... that's it I think. Outside of that, you'd have to wait until sunrise pretty much for anything else.

[simms3]

That is the problem with Jacksonville...it's a very "early" city.  People get up pretty early in Jacksonville to get to work by 8, but then people leave work between 4 and 5 and don't go anywhere but straight home, and nobody goes out on the weekends.  Jacksonville is also a house party city.  Always has been, and as far as I can tell it may always continue to be.  People of all ages seem to prefer to get super toasted at someone's house.  I was always blown away in high school when I would visit family or friends in larger cities to the north that a simple coffee at 8-9 and then a movie and then maybe a couple drinks at a local pub sufficed.  I thought I was so advanced for thinking that getting obliterated at a house was cooler than a sober evening stroll in the city on a Friday night.  It's the Jacksonville and state of Florida way.

I run into the "where to eat problem" every time I come home.  I'm not used to eating dinner until 9 or 10 and if I come in late at night my only choice is Krystals!  I have long thought it was a load of bull that the Metro Diner had "diner" in its name since it's not even open for 50% of the day (I say you can call yourself a diner when you are 24/7).

Longer work schedules, higher stress, extensive nightlife, and higher density prompt businesses to find a reason to stay open late or even 24/7.  I say higher stress because people who are working 60-80 hour work weeks in a faster paced city with more on the line and more tension/corporate competition are bound to have a lot more stress than a slow, non-progressive city where people work 40-50 hour work weeks with fewer stakes on the line.  Higher stress and higher workloads also prompt a lot more coffee drinking.

Overall I would say Jacksonville is similar to SW FL off season in that there are never any cars on the road past 9, and the only difference between SW FL and Jacksonville is that our streets are well lit so you don't have to worry about hitting anything.

This is traffic from my balcony at about 12:30 am...

It doesn't look like it, but that is 10 lanes of completely gridlocked traffic, so the cops turned the northbound lanes into a 2 way to route traffic off the highway (I guess the next extreme measure would have been using helicopter magnets to lift cars, heh).  The streets in Midtown are usually a standstill on Thurs-Sat nights starting at about 11 and Peachtree is usually legitimately teeming with people from the Fox all the way up to 14th from 10-3 on Thurs-Sat nights.  As a result nothing shuts down until 4, and many businesses are 24/7.

Coffee shops, crowded pizza places with large tables for random people to sit at, and diners are the best places for community building late at night.  Many of the coffee houses near me are bars by night that still offer coffee.  Jazz clubs are also nice, but a more expensive option.  I went to a Krispy Kreme the other night at about 11 and there was a line out the door and people just mingling.  Seemed like another option.  I know Rita's at the beach is that way and walk up.

The other thing that can act as a late night community building measure are hotel patios that overlook busy streets.  Down by the Fox Theater are two hotels where I always notice small groups, single travelers, locals, artists, writers, and people who just want a nice place to read or people watch.  Usually not so many people out by day (especially in the summer), but by 7 there's a nice crowd and by 10 a really nice crowd (like it can be hard to find a seat).  A few years ago that place was dead, but with so many new apartments, the Fox having something each night, a couple new bars, a great new restaurant, and a jazz club all on the block there are a ton of people out providing a good and relaxing people watching environment.

Lastly, we have been over this time and time again, but college students are probably the best way to instantly extend an area's bed time, or eliminate the bed time altogether.  I know that most students at Georgia Tech pull at least 1-2 all nighters a week, and Emory the same.  Georgia State downtown is pushing for 50,000 students and trying to keep as many downtown as possible, and so you know that provides incentives for coffee shops and late night eateries.  Many students would rather go "somewhere" rather than stay cooped up in a dorm or apt.  I think many businesses in the Fairlie Poplar area are either 24/7 or close at 4:30.  If only Jacksonville did something to bring a college downtown (med school students are definitely night owls).

[AFCassidy]

I'm biased because I'm a minority investor in the restaurant, but there's a neighborhood pizza place at Cesery and Merrill Road in Arlington called Saucers.  Open till midnight weekdays and 3am every Friday and Saturday. 

Obviously all are welcome, but to Simms point, the main reason it's open that late is because of the JU college crowd.   Only a couple blocks from campus.

Good pizza though. 

[thelakelander]

Are there any places open late near the other colleges in town like UNF or EWC or at the beaches?

[cityimrov]

I'm biased because I'm a minority investor in the restaurant, but there's a neighborhood pizza place at Cesery and Merrill Road in Arlington called Saucers.  Open till midnight weekdays and 3am every Friday and Saturday. 

Obviously all are welcome, but to Simms point, the main reason it's open that late is because of the JU college crowd.   Only a couple blocks from campus.

Good pizza though. 

Are you set up for the long term loiter?  Do you have any couches to sit on with nearby power outlets where I can open up a laptop and do some work over a few slices of pizza?  Are the tables set up in a way that I can go over and do stuff (e.g. study, cards, who knows what) with friends or strangers?  In short, does the experience feel like a second home where I can put my feet up and relax? 

[simms3]

^^^Never seen anyone playing cards in a pizza joint or coffee shop, but have you ever tried going to "poker night" at your local bar?  I know you weren't looking for bars, but usually they are the best places for that sort of activity where strangers sit down at round tables for poker.  I used to do a Tuesday night at a bar near me and met many people that way.

[urbanlibertarian]

I'm biased because I'm a minority investor in the restaurant, but there's a neighborhood pizza place at Cesery and Merrill Road in Arlington called Saucers.  Open till midnight weekdays and 3am every Friday and Saturday. 

Obviously all are welcome, but to Simms point, the main reason it's open that late is because of the JU college crowd.   Only a couple blocks from campus.

Good pizza though. 

I've heard very good things about the food at Saucers.  Didn't know until now about the late hours. Cool.

[AFCassidy]

Are you set up for the long term loiter?  Do you have any couches to sit on with nearby power outlets where I can open up a laptop and do some work over a few slices of pizza?  Are the tables set up in a way that I can go over and do stuff (e.g. study, cards, who knows what) with friends or strangers?  In short, does the experience feel like a second home where I can put my feet up and relax? 

Probably not - I mean I'm sure if you needed a plug someone could help you out with that, but no couches yet. 

There are two rooms, a smaller and quieter casual dining room and a larger bar area.  We do have events in the bar area... poker night Monday, trivia on Wednesday, karaoke on Thursday.  Beer and wine.  And a projector with screen...

[AFCassidy]

I've heard very good things about the food at Saucers.  Didn't know until now about the late hours. Cool.

Cool.  Word is getting around.