Salt Lake City nightlife activity exceeds pre-pandemic levels

About 25% of bar and restaurant transactions across Salt Lake City using Square have occurred between 7pm and 4am so far in 2023, per data from the point-of-sale company.

• That's down two percentage points from last year, and up four percentage points since 2019 — before the COVID-19 pandemic, Axios' Alex Fitzpatrick reports.

Driving the news: Salt Lake City's downtown activity, where its nightlife is concentrated, ranks No. 1 in the nation for post-pandemic recovery, according to data that analyzed mobile phone activity.

The big picture: Some signs suggest that we're becoming a "nation of early birds," as The Wall Street Journal recently put it, in part because the pandemic shifted how we spend our time.

• One contributing factor: "Hybrid and remote workers itching to leave the house as soon as they close their laptops," per the WSJ.
• Yet other indicators suggest the late-night scene is alive and well across America — which jives with the overall post-pandemic sense that people are still burning off pent-up demand for social time.

Reality check: Square can't capture all transactions across all venues in a given city — it only collects activities using its platform and tech.

• Still, its use is widespread enough for its data to point to broad trends.

The bottom line: Downtown's nightlife is thriving with the addition of new bars, as well as eateries, including Santo Tacos, Hot Buns and Los Tapatios Taco Grill that stay open past midnight to accommodate late-night crowds.