We don’t know if there are any songs written about when a bar opens for the night, but there are plenty of them dedicated to the moment before it closes. "Last call" isn’t just a public service announcement, it isn’t just a call to action - buy another drink or get outta here - it’s a ritual, it’s an intimacy, it’s the moment the night changes. Writer Brad Thomas Parsons staked out at dozens of bars across the country to write his new book, Last Call: Bartenders on Their Final Drink and the Wisdom and Rituals of Closing Time. He spoke with Francis Lam about what he saw after so many late nights.
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