Thursday used to be “the new Friday” in downtown Patchogue.
Until it started to feel like Tuesday.
Now, four village restaurants are banding together to bring Thursday nights back to their former glory — with DJs, live music, and a reason to bounce from bar to bar like old times.
Welcome to Make Thursdays Great Again, Patchogue Village, N.Y.
The weekly nightlife activation is the brainchild of event promoter Joe Gannone and restaurateur Scottie Campbell, who say the idea was sparked by a shared sense that something had gone missing from the downtown scene.
“Thursday nights in Patchogue used to mean something,” Gannone said. “The streets were packed, bars were full, and people jumped from spot to spot all night. There was an energy that made Thursdays feel just as exciting as the weekend.”
Campbell, who was previously a partial owner of the now-closed Parabell, remembers those nights well — watching games, listening to music, and seeing crowds naturally flow from one venue to the next.
“That’s really the inspiration here,” Campbell said. “We wanted to create something super fun and reasonable that gets people back into town and moving around again.”
Unlike a traditional bar crawl, Make Thursdays Great Again is designed as a downtown-wide experience, with all participating venues hosting DJs or live bands simultaneously.
To kick things off this Thursday, Jan. 22, Village Idiot, Arooga’s, Daisy’s, and Amsterdam are all participating.
Each week, one venue will serve as the official check-in location. Guests can purchase tickets in advance online or pay a $10 cover at the check-in.
Upon check-in, attendees receive a card redeemable for four free drinks — one at each participating spot.
From there, the night is intentionally unscripted.
“There’s no strict order and no forced schedule,” Gannone said. “You move however you want. Explore, bounce around, meet people and experience what each place brings to the table.”
At its core, the organizers say the goal is simple: get people out of the house and back into the social heartbeat, rebuilding the culture that once made Thursday nights feel alive and full of possibility.
Make Thursdays Great Again is presented by Gannone and Campbell and produced by Social Pressure.
Tickets and updates are available through Social Pressure’s Instagram and ticketing platform.
Top: Courtesy of Social Pressure. Credit: Karina C Photography
