Parkside, the Difference is Night and Day

• Restaurant by Day

So as for Parkside during the day, pictured below was a calm Thursday at around 7 p.m. on October 4, this is the vibe and look of the establishment. As you can see it is in full restaurant mode. The patio is lined with tables and chairs, a cornhole game is set up for the kids and young adults wanting to just hang out, and the bar is next to empty besides a few people wanting to grab a drink or chat. 

There were not a lot of people there that night, but I saw around 4 or 5 families with young children, a few groups of college kids or teens, and some young adults ordering from the bar. The music blasting seemed to be the “Top 100 Pop Songs,” and I felt cozy sitting at a patio table by myself.  

• Talking with Staff

While waiting for my food, I was able to talk to staff who were all hanging out at a table of their own off the clock. I mistook the group for another gang of college kids looking for a bite, but they all turned out to be Parkside employees, so I took some time to interview one of them. My interviewee asked to remain anonymous as they had a job to maintain, but this is what I learned. 

Parkside staff would describe the day scene of Parkside as a family friendly environment, whose customer demographic is all ages. They host a lot of banquets and private events (that night a sorority actually booked the patio for a White Party), and the focus is on the food menu not the drinks.

• LGBTQIA+ Friendly

When asked if the environment is queer friendly, I was told that there were a few LGBTQIA+ members on staff, and that if any guest was making remarks, or causing trouble for queer clientele, security would “take care of that.” So don’t worry about feeling unsafe if you identify as queer, the vibes seem to be very inclusive.

• Food Menu

The menu prices range from around 19 to 29 dollars for a full meal entrée, so while it may seem a bit pricey, remember you are eating in downtown, so expect to spend accordingly. As for the food quality, I bought the $18 “Drive Through Burger” which came with a side of fries. I chose garlic fries which were delicious as you can tell by my ravaged plate.

Overall, I really enjoyed this side of Parkside and will most likely bring a few friends and grab some grub during the day.

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• Dance Club by Night

The night life of Parkside is literally night and day as you can see by the line forming down the street of the establishment. Gone are the empty tables and ability to walk right in and be seated immediately; instead, you must wait in line for quite a while before being let in. 

• Quick Trip to Bella’s

However, there are ways to skip the line and on October 6, they had a highly creative option that will lead us on a little side quest for a second. As you can see by the sign below that was set up at the Parkside entrance, if you walked around the block to another bar called Bella’s, and spent 10 dollars on anything, you could come back with a receipt, or in my case a card signed by a bartender, and completely skip the line. I opted for this method and it definitely felt like I saved some time.

• Back to Parkside

Now, moving onto Parkside itself, this is what it looked like inside. The patio went from a semi-vacant eatery to a crowd packed and lively dance floor. The music went from lighthearted pop songs to urban bops and “hot girl” beats. The energy was high and the crowd was moving. I was recognized by a bar tender from when I ate there on October 4, which was a nice personal touch.

• The DJ and Vibe

I managed to get an interview with the DJ set to play on October 6 when I visited Parkside on October 4, so here is what he has to say about being the Parkside DJ when he can.

Zic, or Zicalas is in charge of the marketing at Bella’s, which makes the “spend 10 dollars at Bella’s” line skip method make a lot of sense for his night’s being Parkside’s DJ. When asked, he stated that Parkside was his favorite place to DJ in town, and that when he shows up he is gonna bring the quote “ratchet element” to the dance floor.

Originally going by the name “Sexual Chocolate,” Zic plays multiple venues in town and hopes to market for Parkside soon. He told me he only drinks tequila and his liquor of choice is Lalo. For food at Parkside, he recommends his favorite, the chicken parmesan. He assured me that even with his discount and gift cards for working Parkside, he believes the food is truly fire.

• Drink Price Points

As for drinks, I spent 15 dollars on an AMF that was chalk full of alcohol, and for a tequila shot and Sprite chaser I spent 10 dollars. The prices are definitely a bit higher than other competitors, but being one of the hottest spots in town comes with having prices that reflect that.

With $6 Coronas, and $7 Rocket Fuels, you can definitely have an affordable time if you look at the Late Night Menu and choose accordingly. When going out with my own friends, I have always pre-gamed at my place on Nord, made the short walk across Chico State campus, and bought only one or two drinks at Parkside to keep the buzz going.

• Second Opinion?

As for customers keeping the buzz going. I managed to snag an interview from Parkside patron Jaime Vazquez who was decked out in lederhosen for his third year participating in Chico’s Sierra Nevada Oktoberfest, and was having a great time ending the night with some buddies.

He told me that Parkside is the most established club in Chico, and says his favorite drink is the AMF. When asked to give the bar a rating he told me he would give it a 7/10. When asked if he would recommend the bar he said most definitely, but that he only ever came for the night life so he could not speak to the restaurant’s quality.

• My thoughts and Conclusion

As my reader base is focused on Butte College students, I highly recommend going out to eat at Parkside in the daytime with a group of friends for your next hangout session. If you don’t mind paying the higher priced, but quality food, it is a relaxed and chill environment that will have you playing cornhole and chilling under the lights of the patio.

For my 21 and up students like myself, going out for a night to Parkside is one of the best club experiences you are going to get in the NorCal area. The vibe and crowd is always popping, the music is always playing bangers and is going to be playing the most urban playlist in town as opposed to the Bear and Frequency’s more pop oriented sound, and security is everywhere ensuring the floor stays safe and watched. So come through Friday or Saturday night, you will probably find me eating a slice of Woodstock pizza to refuel around 1 a.m., so come say hi!