bar one

Neighbourhood bars do a job the bigger rooms cannot. They are close enough to walk home from, small enough that the same faces turn up, and steady through the off-season in a city whose summer population runs well above its winter one. That last point counts for a lot in Penticton, where a great deal of business rises and falls with the calendar and the weather.

Rooms of this kind vary enormously, so it pays to know what you are walking into. Some run a full kitchen and others serve little or nothing. Some are built around televisions and sport, some around music, pool tables or darts. Some have a patio that transforms the place in July and shuts it back down to the indoor room by October. Licensing conditions differ too, including whether minors are permitted and until what hour. Organising anything for a group is simpler with a call first.