Louise’s Downtown

32 oz. schooners: $2.25 domestics / $6 Boulevards

“Schooner night” has been a friend to the student clientele’s wallet since the late '80s. It’s Louise’s way of giving back to students, says manager John Davis — like a soup kitchen, but with beer instead of soup.

“It’s a way for students who don’t have a lot of money to come down and get drunk on $10,” Davis said.

The schooner can be ordered in either a gallant chalice (as one drinker referred to it) or a less decorative but no less effective plastic cup. A really tall plastic cup. The price of a schooner has recently gone from $1.75 to $2.25, but the folks in the bar still think it's still a steal.

“I would have gone out regardless,” says Kansas City, Mo., senior Jake Hodes. “I’m here for the $2.25 schooners.”

Says Olathe grad student Allen Britt: “When you’ve got a special like this you can’t bypass it.”

Shawnee senior Jay Werner: “It’s a personal goal of mine to get five schooners, but I don’t think I’ll make it.”

Thursday night is the busiest night at Louise’s, says Brittany Wolfe, bartender and Lawrence senior. Wolfe fills schooner after schooner as sports play on the two flat screens behind the bar. Louise's offers two bars, four pool tables, two juke boxes, a second floor and a heated two-story back porch.

The interior of Louise’s probably hasn’t changed much since schooner night started, but there's no reason that it should have. It's not about gimmicky decoration or forced atmosphere. It’s just a good old college-town bar, with black vinyl booths and scratched up table tops.

Pita Pit is on the same block and conveniently open until 3 a.m. to satisfy your hop-induced hunger — and ward off a hangover.