2008 Woodie Awards
Local pizzeria goes global for Int'l Night
Pat's provides an alt. to Main Street scene
by Katie Rogers
Issue date: 4/24/07 Section: News
Jirar Helou, who goes by the name DJ JNH, plays a fast European-techno track and quickly slows down the pace to a smooth salsa beat as people dance on the crowded floor. Others shuffle in, showing their passports at the door to the bouncers who cannot help but groove to the beat.
Each Thursday at Pat's Pizzeria on Elkton Road, the restaurant transforms into International Night. Helou has been DJing the international party every week for the past year and said it is a great atmosphere for people to learn about other cultures through music.
"International night combines two crowds of people who are either international students studying in grad school here or people who studied abroad and liked the scene, so they come here to get it back," he said. "We have a great mix of people who are away from their country, but feel like they're in a club back home on this night."
Helou said Pat's International Night is unique because he plays music from a variety of countries around the world. Music such as Turkish, Greek, Arabic, Latin can be heard booming on the dance floor.
"People come up to me and request what they want to hear," he said. "I've really built up my music library to be broad through different nationalities."
Liliana Mancera, an English Language Institute student from Colombia, said she has been attending International Night for six months after hearing about it from her friends.
"I love this place because I can always dance here and, for me, if I really want to have a good time partying I have to dance," Mancera said.
She said her favorite part of International Night is when DJ JNH plays Colombian music.
Sebastian Quiroga, an ELI student from Chile, said he recently began attending Pat's on Thursdays this month.
"I heard about it from my friends. They told me this is the best place in town for a real international party," Quiroga said. "My favorite thing about it is when the DJ plays South American music because I know it from my country and I enjoy dancing to it with everyone."
Nick Tsatsaronis, manager of Pat's, said the crowd of people who come in each week differs from other specialty nights at nearby bars, such as '90s Night at Klondike Kate's or Mug Night at Deer Park.
"Our night is more of a mix of cultures, it's different and the crowd's different," Tsatsaronis said. "In an American crowd at a bar, if you bump into someone, you're scared you're going to get into a fight. Here, the crowd really vibes together. Everyone parties with everyone."
On an average night, he said approximately 220 people come out to party and 70 percent of the crowd is students.
Tsatsaronis said International Night begins at 10:30 and ends at 1 a.m., but Pat's is lenient in regards to closing time.
"At other bars, once it's 1 o'clock, they kick you out right away," he said. "Here we keep the music going till about 1:30 and the people usually like to stay for a while."
Each Thursday at Pat's Pizzeria on Elkton Road, the restaurant transforms into International Night. Helou has been DJing the international party every week for the past year and said it is a great atmosphere for people to learn about other cultures through music.
"International night combines two crowds of people who are either international students studying in grad school here or people who studied abroad and liked the scene, so they come here to get it back," he said. "We have a great mix of people who are away from their country, but feel like they're in a club back home on this night."
Helou said Pat's International Night is unique because he plays music from a variety of countries around the world. Music such as Turkish, Greek, Arabic, Latin can be heard booming on the dance floor.
"People come up to me and request what they want to hear," he said. "I've really built up my music library to be broad through different nationalities."
Liliana Mancera, an English Language Institute student from Colombia, said she has been attending International Night for six months after hearing about it from her friends.
"I love this place because I can always dance here and, for me, if I really want to have a good time partying I have to dance," Mancera said.
She said her favorite part of International Night is when DJ JNH plays Colombian music.
Sebastian Quiroga, an ELI student from Chile, said he recently began attending Pat's on Thursdays this month.
"I heard about it from my friends. They told me this is the best place in town for a real international party," Quiroga said. "My favorite thing about it is when the DJ plays South American music because I know it from my country and I enjoy dancing to it with everyone."
Nick Tsatsaronis, manager of Pat's, said the crowd of people who come in each week differs from other specialty nights at nearby bars, such as '90s Night at Klondike Kate's or Mug Night at Deer Park.
"Our night is more of a mix of cultures, it's different and the crowd's different," Tsatsaronis said. "In an American crowd at a bar, if you bump into someone, you're scared you're going to get into a fight. Here, the crowd really vibes together. Everyone parties with everyone."
On an average night, he said approximately 220 people come out to party and 70 percent of the crowd is students.
Tsatsaronis said International Night begins at 10:30 and ends at 1 a.m., but Pat's is lenient in regards to closing time.
"At other bars, once it's 1 o'clock, they kick you out right away," he said. "Here we keep the music going till about 1:30 and the people usually like to stay for a while."
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