Downtown Greensboro on a Friday evening: a fiddle player and an acoustic guitar pair are working through a set at a pub on the corner of Elm and McGee, the upstairs crowd is louder than the downstairs one, and a few blocks away the baseball stadium has emptied out into the surrounding streets.
Greensboro's nightlife is spread rather than concentrated, and it leans toward bars, pubs and coffee houses rather than large clubs. It suits visitors who want a relaxed evening with food and a drink, students and locals around the university end of town, and anyone pairing a drink with a ballgame or a show. Much of what the sources describe is downtown or within a short walk of a campus.
Where to go out in Greensboro
1. Downtown, around Elm and McGee streets
This is the corner of downtown with the most conventional night-out character: a pub on two levels, both with outdoor seating, and a large menu of salads, sandwiches and traditional Irish fare alongside a long list of beers, scotch and whiskey. The source notes that the upstairs bar is the smoking section and tends to be the rowdier part of the building, while the downstairs bar is non-smoking and more relaxed, with live acoustic music on Friday nights, played outside when the weather allows.
It suits a group that can't agree on how loud the evening should be, since the two floors offer different versions of the same night. Note the split before you commit to a table.
2. Spring Garden Street, by the UNC-G campus
A draught house sits directly on the edge of the UNC-G campus and draws students, professors and locals who want a good sandwich and cheap beer. The source describes daily food specials and singles out Wednesday nights as particularly popular.
This is the choice for an early, inexpensive, unpretentious evening rather than a late one. If you are visiting midweek, Wednesday is the night the source flags as busy.
3. Tate Street
A coffee house just off the UNCG campus, known for its coffee and for free jazz shows every Thursday night, and busy with college students during the school year. It is open from morning until late evening daily.
It suits a night that starts with music rather than alcohol, or an early stop before moving on. The free Thursday jazz is the specific reason to time a visit to that day.
4. South Elm Street
A bakery and dessert stop on South Elm Street serving cheesecake, cookies and other baked goods, plus coffee, with Wi-Fi and evening opening hours that run later on Friday and Saturday than on weeknights.
It works as the last stop of a night rather than the first, or as a low-key alternative to a bar. Check the day before you go, since the closing time shifts across the week.
5. Guilford Avenue, by the tracks
A neighbourhood tavern open from mid-afternoon until late every day, described as a place to drink with locals, with the standard dive-bar features: cheap beer, a pool table, a patio and a mixed crowd.
It suits a visitor who wants a plain, inexpensive drink and conversation rather than a designed night out. The source gives its daily hours, so you can plan around an afternoon start.
6. The ballpark district, Bellemeade Street
Greensboro Grasshoppers games at First Horizon Park are played downtown, with seating on the grass, in the stands and in boxes, and a large outdoor bar by left field. The source notes that Thursdays are extremely crowded because of cheap beer, though usually only the bar area is shoulder to shoulder, and that the atmosphere is family oriented.
This suits a summer evening that mixes sport with drinking, and it is easy to reach on foot from downtown. Parking can be difficult, but the source notes that free parking is available if you are willing to walk about ten minutes.
7. Dinner theatres and performance venues
The Barn Dinner Theatre, on Stage Coach Trail, is described as the oldest continually operating dinner theatre in the country, with a buffet dinner and a live show; seat-only tickets may be available if you don't want dinner, and the source notes there are no vegan options. Tickets start at $46 per adult and $23 per child.
It suits a planned evening with a fixed schedule rather than a spontaneous one. Book ahead if you want the dinner included, and note the lack of vegan options before committing.
8. The Greensboro Cultural Center at Festival Park
The cultural centre on North Davie Street is listed among the city's things to do, and it sits within the downtown area where the evening's bars and restaurants are found.
It suits a night that combines a cultural stop with dinner and a drink nearby, rather than a dedicated night out on its own. Treat it as one part of a downtown evening.
How a night out unfolds
The sources describe venues rather than a city-wide rhythm, but the pattern they imply is an early start and a long tail. Coffee houses and the dessert stop open in the morning and run until late evening, the tavern by the tracks opens mid-afternoon and stays open until late, and the pub downtown carries live music on Friday nights. Baseball games and dinner theatre shows set their own fixed times, and the source notes that Thursdays at the ballpark and Wednesdays at the Spring Garden draught house are the busiest nights of their respective weeks. Beyond that, the sources do not specify when Greensboro eats or how late the city runs.
Festivals and events worth timing a trip around
- North Carolina Folk Festival
- First Fridays in Downtown Greensboro
- Fun Fourth of July Festival
- North Carolina Comedy Festival
- Winter Wonderlights
- Reenactment of the Battle of Guilford Courthouse, on the weekend closest to March 14
The sources name these events but do not give months or seasons for most of them; only the battle reenactment carries a date, in March. The city also hosted the National Folk Festival from 2015 to 2017.
Frequently asked questions
Where do people go for a drink downtown?
The source describes a pub at the corner of Elm and McGee streets with two levels, both with outdoor seating, a long beer list and a large food menu, and notes it as one of the best places downtown to watch a sunset.
What is there to do on a Thursday night?
Two options appear in the sources: free jazz shows at a coffee house on Tate Street, and baseball at First Horizon Park, which the source says is extremely crowded on Thursdays because of cheap beer.
Is there anywhere to go that isn't a bar?
Yes. A coffee house on Tate Street is open from morning until late evening daily, and a bakery on South Elm Street serves cheesecake, cookies, baked goods and coffee into the evening, with later hours on Friday and Saturday.
Do I need to worry about parking for a downtown game?
The source says parking can sometimes be a problem at the ballpark, but that free parking is not a problem if you are willing to walk about ten minutes.
Decide whether your evening is a ballgame, a show or a slow round of downtown bars, then check the day's hours before you set out.