Happy hour gets happier in Pennsylvania

BETWEEN MIXING margaritas at Northern Liberties' Cantina Dos Segundos, Bob Achilles said he was wary of state legislation that lets bars double the two-hour length of happy hour.

"I'm just envisioning people getting drunk then leaving after happy hour ends, and not tipping," said Achilles, 34. "But I'm a worrier. We'll find out soon enough."

Dos Segundos, like many Philly bars, hasn't figured out what to do with the wiggle room afforded by the law, which went into effect yesterday. Manager Liz Sherlock said that the bar would likely take advantage of it but that she isn't sure how.

The law lets bars extend happy hour past the old maximum of two hours a day, but bars still must limit their happy hours to a total of 14 hours per week.

Achilles' partner behind the bar, Rob Carroll, 27, said he saw some potential pluses to lengthening the hours of cheaper booze.

"It'll definitely boost business, " Carroll said. "People aren't getting out of work until 6 or 7 o'clock. It makes the day a little brighter when happy hour's still going on."

A few miles south on 2nd Street, neighborhood watering hole Artful Dodger in Society Hill has slipped under the radar with its 4:30 to 7 p.m. happy hour - a half-hour longer than the legal length before the bill's passage.

"There wasn't anybody who gave us a hard time," manager Joe McBride said, adding that he'd like to start a late happy hour.

His nephew, John McBride, 22, who tends bar there, agreed that a longer happy hour would be good for business.

"Extended happy hour benefits more people," he said. "As long as there's money in the drawer, I still have a job."