Third Place Lounge

Third Place Lounge opened in January 2024 at 1744 Broadway Boulevard in the Crossroads, in the room that had been the Coda music venue, and its name states its purpose: a third place, the sociologist's term for somewhere that is neither home nor work, where the point is being among people rather than what is in your glass. Owner Amanda Blancarte built it as a socialising-first hangout where drinking is optional rather than assumed, and the room reads that way — The Pitch described it as cute and comfy, like a boho-chic den at your cool cousin's bungalow, fitted with rope swings and soft furnishings rather than a long hard bar. It opens in the afternoon rather than at night, from 3pm Tuesday through Friday and 2pm on Saturday, running to midnight at weekends, which makes it usable for an early evening that does not have to turn into a late one.

The zero-proof drinks are the reason to know about it, and The Pitch devoted a whole column to them in January 2025 under the headline "Drink This Now" — concluding that the thoughtful menu establishes Third Place Lounge as an inclusive spot. Three stand out. No'groni, No Problems ($12) delivers, in the reviewer's words, the herbal and bitter taste without the intensity, which is the hard part of a zero-proof Negroni and the part most bars skip. Death Before Decaf ($12) is a non-alcoholic espresso martini built on a brown sugar simple syrup rather than plain sugar, giving it the body that usually goes missing when the vodka does. First-time Crush ($7) is the cheapest and the most inventive use of an unlikely ingredient — non-alcoholic PBR lengthened with grapefruit syrup for a light effervescence and gentle sweetness. One practical note: the lounge publishes its menus as images dated June 2024, so the printed list online is well behind what the bar is actually pouring. Treat the drinks above as the house style rather than a guaranteed current list, and ask what is on.