Some bars require shirts and shoes. Others regulate smoking. Now, some bars around the country are banning cell phones.
From the outside, Antagonist looks like any other cocktail bar. A host greets guests out front as they arrive.
Inside, leather banquettes line the room beneath big, fringed chandeliers. It’s very Instagrammable — if only you could snap a pic. To get in, guests hand their phones to the host, who slips them into a pouch.
To get inside, you have to hand your phone to the host, who puts it in a pouch.
The host, Phi Hoang, is also the bar’s co-owner, and says he’s surprised with how little people push back.
"So we’ll lock your phones up in the bag." Hoang said, "If you guys need your phones at any point in time, you come out and see us. To be honest with you, most people are excited to give us their phones."
Once inside, people sit at tables talking or playing board games provided by the bar. Some are chatting with the bartenders.
"I wanted to create a space where people could come, interact, be vulnerable, be nervous, but be human, you know what I mean?" said co-owner Mike Salzarulo. "This bar is just the latest establishment to introduce a phone-free concept."
In recent years, no-phone bars and restaurants have also opened in a handful of other cities, including New York and Washington, D.C.
"I mean, I think this is so interesting, and this is exactly what people are yearning for," said Anna Lembke, a psychiatrist at Stanford University and author of “Dopamine Nation.” She says phones have become an easy escape — especially in social settings.
“What teenagers talk a lot about is how whenever there’s an awkward social moment, people just pull out their phones and pretend to be absorbed by something,” Lembke said. “And you know, adults are unfortunately probably no different at this point.”
She says ignoring that impulse is hard, but it’s easier when everyone in the room is doing the same.
Randy Yinger is here with his girlfriend, Amanda Bozian. The no phone concept was actually a draw to come to the bar.
"I’m enjoying the moment. I’m having conversations. I’m making eye contact. Like I’m not worrying about a text or checking Instagram." Bozian said.
At a nearby table is Lauren Bernard. She’s a social media manager by day, but tonight, she’s notification-free.
"Honestly, it’s fantastic. Life needs to be more like this." Bernard said.
She’s also trying to find a date for her friend, Rachel McGraw, who says she’s tired of guys flirting through social media.
"Like, no, I actually don’t want your Instagram. I don’t want your Snapchat. Write your number on my arm. Let’s make it old school." McGraw said.
Even if she doesn’t find a date tonight, she will leave with an old school souvenir. Before guests go, staff take their photo with a Polaroid camera. A small tangible memory from a night spent offline.
