No more salsa night

The Davis Graduate, a sports bar and grill located in University Mall, will close on June 30. The classic pub grub is known for providing dance lessons, such as Country and Salsa Night, where students often go to relax. Charlie Swanson, the owner of The Davis Graduate confirmed the Davis institution’s closure via Facebook post.

April Yoshihara, a third-year animal science major at UC Davis, expressed that she wants to experience all that The Davis Graduate offers before its closure.

“I’m feeling pretty sad,” Yoshihara said. “I’ve only gone [to Salsa night] a handful of times, but it’s a super fun experience — they teach you how to do it. It’s a great way to de-stress. I still haven’t gone to Country night. Since they’re closing, I got to get on that.”

Similarly, Lasya Shah, a transfer clinical nutrition major and fourth-year at UC Davis, indicated her disappointment that her go-to spot will now close.

“I am really sad about it,” Shah said. “I wish it wasn’t closing, but it’s nothing much we can do at the moment because it’s something that the owners are going through from what we’ve heard.”

Shah has been an ongoing regular at The Davis Grad for Salsa Night.

“My initial reaction was just disbelief and shock,” Shah said. “I’m a regular at The Grad — I go every Thursday for Salsa Night.”

Yoshihara also frequented The Davis Grad to dance at Salsa Night.

“My favorite memory was when I went with two of my other friends — it was their first time — and we all danced together,” Yoshihara said. “My one friend got asked by a guy, and he taught her how to dance. It was really funny and cute.”

Shah will mostly miss the community she found at The Davis Graduate.

“I will miss making all of the friends that I’ve made there because I was a student who came later as a transfer,” Shah said. “It was hard to make friends at a new school when everyone’s established. When I went to The Grad, it opened me to making new friends.”

According to Yoshihara, The Davis Grad is a special part of Davis.

“I think it’s a really cool place,” Yoshihara said. “It’s something different that you don’t necessarily see everywhere or know about. People ask, ‘What’s there to do in Davis?’ It’s a cool thing to say that you can go to Country Night or Salsa Night.”



Written by: Stella Tran — city@theaggie.org