Nightlife: Where Spring Break never stops

When did partying get so complicated? In the swank nightclub scene, you have to worry about dress code, cover charge, getting on the list, bottle service and getting into VIP.

Ugh. Enter the party bar, where it's cool to be casual.

Simply put, a party bar is all about partying. Dress code? Jeans, T-shirts, sneakers are all OK. Sophisticated lighting and sound? They're a plus, but not necessary. Everything blurs together anyway when you're getting wasted. And while most nightclubs brag about high-end vodka and champagne, Sneaky Pete's -- one of the Twin Cities' most popular party bars -- proudly claims that it sells more Michelob Golden Draft than any place in town.

"You go to some nightclubs and you have to pay $15 to get in, and then it's all snotty people and high drink prices," said Jeremy Rabe, a very young 35-year-old from Lakeville who was at Sneaky Pete's last Friday.

We've always had party bars. But now we have a lot of them.

The continued success of such spots as Bootleggers, Drink, the Loop and now Sneaky Pete's have solidified the genre's prominent position in the downtown Minneapolis scene.

Opened in March 2007, Sneaky Pete's has become one of the busiest night spots downtown. It's gotten a reputation for being wild, crazy, even crude. Oh, and one more thing -- fun.

There is another party-bar quality, and Sneaky Pete's is the king of this: Zero inhibitions.

The stuff that people used to do only on spring break, they now do at Sneaky Pete's. I already mentioned the stripper poles. But how about a little thing we'll call "crotch shots"? No, not those pantyless photos the paparazzi are always snapping of Britney Spears. At Sneaky Pete's, female bartenders jump on top of the bar, kneel down to cradle some lucky sap's head between their legs and then pour a shot of liquor straight down his throat.

This scene happens several times a night at Sneaky Pete's. Last Friday at about 11:30 p.m., a voice came on over the music, announcing: "Shot girls to the bar!"

It was time. Soon, two servers -- a blonde and a brunette -- were standing behind the bar, liquor bottle in one hand and a white bar rag in the other (for spillage). As they jumped onto the bar top, the soundtrack to any great act of debauchery exploded out of the sound system: "Welcome to the Jungle" by Guns N' Roses.

Groups of men quickly gathered under them, eager for a shot. So they poured and poured. Some women even got in on the ritual.

"They're like little birds with their mouths open."

Aw, cute.

Now about those stripper poles. For some, putting poles in the middle of the dance floor might seem crude. But once you see the reception they get the idea is nothing short of genius. The two poles almost become life rafts in the middle of the dance floor's sea of people, with dozens of bargoers -- both men and women -- vying for space on the elevated platforms.

Rabe, the Sneaky Pete's regular from Lakeville, said he's been up there.

"I have an upside-down move where my legs go --," he said, pointing to the ceiling. "The girls are like, 'Teach me that!'"

If saying Sneaky Pete's is a family business sounds a little wild, than you don't know the family. The bar is named for owner Peter Hafiz, the man behind Deja Vu and Dream Girls and who recently acquired the Gay 90s. His family members help him operate the businesses. His brother Stewart runs Sneaky Pete's. His sister Leslie does the bookkeeping. And his 72-year-old mother, Eleanor, does payroll.

Most nights you'll find Hafiz at the bar, shaking hands with customers who seek him out after hearing that the big guy with the slick hair and necklaces is Sneaky Pete himself.

"You've got the best job in the house," some drunk guy yelled at him last Friday.

"I should, I paid for it," Hafiz joked.

Drunk guy (apparently not getting the joke): "I love you!"

If all this sounds too wild for your tastes, the club recently opened a surprisingly beautiful downstairs bar that is getting raves from regulars. Bridget Heining, 32, who spends most of her summer days on Lake Minnetonka before heading for Sneaky Pete's, said this: "It gets -- well, look around, it gets wild. That's why we go downstairs where it's calm and comfortable."

It feels more like a nightclub lounge. A mix of stone pillars and dark wood, the room has a long bar and plush booths with private flat-screen TVs (there are 55 flat-screens throughout the bar). The downstairs bar is also where they hide the Wii, which gets plenty of play on busy nights.

The club's new backside patio, which includes a full-sized sand volleyball court, also has become a party haven. A two-story stone deck is finally finished, too.

It's at this outdoor bar where you'll meet Sneaky Pete's most popular personality, Jake Stone, a buff bartender whose long, brown hair and cowboy hat make him look like a grittier Fabio.

The veteran bartender spent almost a decade in Tampa Bay's bar scene before coming back to Minneapolis to manage Sneaky Pete's wild side. I asked him if the craziness ever gets too crazy.

Truer words have never been spoken.

thorgen@startribune.com • 612-673-7909