😭🍺 Why your favorite bar is closing

It’s Tuesday, Boston.

🚇 Did the MBTA just tell me to have a T-riffic day? Yes! “Love on the Spectrum” star and MBTA super fan Pari Kim is making a guest appearance as the voice of the MBTA during Autism Acceptance Month. And her announcements are SO cute.

👀 What’s on tap today:

• A City Councilor pleads guilty

• New pickleball courts, incoming!

• The best (and worst) of Dunkin’

Up first…

FOOD AND DRINK

Gen Z is out on … going out

Where are all the neighborhood bars going? Ask Gen Z. 20-somethings are sober-curious, well-hydrated, and early-to-bed, and it’s changing Boston’s bar scene, according to Boston magazine’s latest issue.

Here’s what to know:

🍸 Gen Z is swapping blacking out for locking in. The data speaks for itself: Gen Z’s alcohol spending during Dry January dropped 15% between 2023 and 2024. In 2025, 39% of Gen Zers plan to adopt a dry lifestyle, versus just 10% of boomers. 

😬 One reason why: They’re control freaks. With the increasingly unstable state of the world (everything is expensive, the job and housing markets stink), young people are more anxious and feel they can’t afford to be off their game, physically or mentally. And in a universe where one drunken night on TikTok could ruin your job prospects (or even result in a bad night of sleep), the buzz doesn’t seem worth the risk. 

📉 Plus, booze is losing its “cool” factor. Sense of impending doom aside, the legalization of marijuana, the pandemic normalizing at-home drinking, and young people’s social anxiety all chipped away at drinking culture. Add the U.S. Surgeon General’s warning linking alcohol to cancer (among tons of other health risks), and you have a pretty darn compelling case for a mocktail. 

👎 The result? Neighborhood bars are taking a hit. Though millennials, Gen Xers, and boomers still like their booze, they’re moving to the burbs, leaving their former neighborhood haunts without a regular crowd. Southie bars targeting 20-somethings like the Playwright and the Broadway have seen a 30% dip in sales over the past five years, while former hotspots like Allston’s Tavern in the Square closed shop. 

🪩 Swanky cocktail bars are filling in the gaps. When Boston magazine’s reporter hit the town, they found folks drawn to places (or drinks) they found online, like these crushed ice-rimmed glasses at Grill 23, or glitter foam at The Wig Shop. When Gen Z-ers do go out, they’re not just looking for booze, they’re looking for an IG-worthy *experience* … even if they aren’t staying for another round.

🍹 The real key to Gen Z might be mocktails. Since September 2024, NA offerings at the Wig Shop and JM Curley have increased 17%. At Equal Measure, bar principal Eliza Hoar says 30% of Gen Zers order spirit-free.

👀 Want more? Read the rest of the piece here.

QUICK QUESTION!

🍺 Are you team neighborhood pub or cocktail bar?

TOGETHER WITH THE MGH FUND

Name someone stronger than a Mass General nurse (we’ll wait)

❤️‍🩹 🩺 They calm your fears, provide round-the-clock care, and always do their best to help you feel better — now it’s time to return the favor. This Nurses Week, May 6-12, take two minutes to post your appreciation to the nurses who made a difference in your life on Mass General’s MGH Fund virtual message wall — or, if you’re feeling a little extra grateful, make a gift to the MGH Fund. Posting a message is free, it’s fast, and it's your chance to finally say what you were too overwhelmed (or sedated) to say at the time: thank you, thank you, thank you. 

CITY

Quick & dirty headlines

😬 A Boston City Councilor could be facing prison time. The saga is nearly over: Tania Fernandes Anderson pleaded guilty on Monday to two of six federal corruption charges (the other four will be dropped as part of her plea deal). ICYMI: She was arrested last year for allegedly pocketing a $7,000 kickback inside a City Hall bathroom from a relative who worked on her staff (yeah, not good). But there’s still one chapter left: Prosecutors want her to serve one year and a day in prison (among a few other things), with her sentencing slated for July 29. 

🏢 Cambridge’s affordable housing policy might be backfiring. The city is one of many local communities that sets aside a chunk of units in most new developments for sorely-needed affordable housing (in its case, 20%). But some industry bigwigs think the policy is actually preventing new construction. Between sky-high construction prices and low profit margins on affordable units, the bottom line on these projects scares away investors, they say. In 2023, the city finished construction on just 39 units. That said, not everyone agrees the policy is the problem: Many place the blame squarely on the economy.

🗳️ Josh Kraft’s secret weapon in the mayoral race? Black voters. At least, he hopes so. Mobilizing Boston’s Black communities who feel ignored by Mayor Michelle Wu seems to be a key piece of Kraft’s campaign strategy (see: his campaign headquarters in Roxbury, or a recent media blitz on Black community-focused radio shows). Is it working? TBD. FWIW, Kraft has developed deep relationships in Boston’s communities of color through his longtime nonprofit work, but Black voters are nowhere near a monolith, and the Globe’s survey of community members found mixed reactions to Kraft.

🏓 The Seaport’s about to *literally* pop off. Enter: Ballers, the new 30,000 square-foot “social-and-sports concept” bringing a host of new pickleball and padel courts (think: a squash-tennis combo), plus an outdoor bar and cafe to the Seaport this summer. Boston will be its second location, but the franchise is planning to expand fast across the country, offering public and membership-tier options for folks to play, eat, and drink with public play starting at $15/hour. For now, you can expect the courts to open in July, with the cafe following a month later. 

GIVEAWAY!

Together with Lyric Stage Boston

Enter to win two tickets to see Hello, Dolly! at Lyric Stage Boston! To enter, just refer a friend and have them accept your invite by the end of the day on May 6. If you have already referred a friend to B-Side (and they’ve accepted), you're eligible! Full details below*

18+. NO PURCHASE NECESSARY. Limit one entry per person. See Official Rules & an additional entry option here.

ONE LAST THING

The best (and worst) of Dunkin’

This is the only food review that matters: To celebrate Dunkin’s 75th b-day, a Globe food critic was tasked with ranking the best and worst of Dunkin’s food menu (drinks were too polarizing, apparently). 

Her findings? The “best of” list included: chocolate frosted and chocolate glazed doughnuts (hard agree), the ham and swiss pretzel slider, which was “surprisingly satisfying,” the hash browns (obv), and the cotton candy specialty doughnut, which she called “a cloud of cake frosting.” Yeah, that’s a no from us. 

And the worst: The toothpaste-y flavored maple glazed donut, a flavorless jelly donut (hot take), and any variety of egg breakfast sandwich thanks to their  flaccid, waterlogged, [and] slippery” eggs.

— Written by Gia Orsino and Emily Schario

🍩 Thanks for reading! This food critic has clearly never had a sausage, egg, and cheese on a croissant at Logan at 4 a.m. Those hit different.

💜 Special shoutout to today’s sponsor, The MGH Fund, for supporting local journalism and keeping our city healthy. 

🌳 The results are in: 53% of readers say they’re not into the new, concrete-heavy Copley Square design. One reader said: “If we wanted to visit a concrete hellscape, City Hall Plaza is just a few T stops away...” Tea.

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