Guy takes a drink for every place that went out of business at Third Street Promenade: ‘RIP Santa Monica’

nypost.com

With dozens of recent business closures at the Third Street Promenade, one comedian decided to take the bad situation and turn it into a drinking game poking fun of the failing strip.

Harrison Baum took to Instagram to share a video of himself taking a sip of beer for every business that closed down at Santa Monica’s Third St. Promenade.

Street-level view of a commercial building in Santa Monica with multiple "Retail Space For Lease" signs visible in the windows and on the exterior.

Many Santa Monica residents avoid the promenade because of safety concerns. Photo Copyright John Chapple / instagram: @JohnChapple

A man drinking from a large cup in front of a "Retail Space for Lease" sign with the number 26 overlaid on it.

Harrison Baum took to Instagram to share a video of himself taking a sip of beer for every business that closed down at Santa Monica’s Third St. Promenade. Instagram/@highceo

The video showed Baum standing in front of the locations where the once-closed businesses stood shut and taking a sip of beer at each — consuming 38 sips and several beers in the process.

“There are a lot of people here, do you think they’ll be able to sustain business?” he asked after taking sip #19.

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The Britannia Pub in Santa Monica existed at 318 Santa Monica Blvd for three decades but is slated to close at the end of July. Taco Bell Cantina will replace the iconic pub when its lease expires July 31.

The Misfit Bar and Restaurant, a softly-lit gastropub inside the city’s historic Clock Tower building, shut down in April this year after 15 years.

The Market Pavilion and Foot Locker storefronts on Santa Monica's 3rd Street Promenade.

Major chains left the promenade due to landlords drastically raising rent prices upon lease renewals Photo Copyright John Chapple / instagram: @JohnChapple

People walk past multiple empty retail spaces with "Retail For Lease" signs in Santa Monica, California.

Homelessness and crime crisis contributed greatly to the severe decline of the promenade. Photo Copyright John Chapple / instagram: @JohnChapple

Big-name giants like Old Navy, Gap, H&M, and AMC have already packed their bags and bolted, leaving the once-thriving promenade a ghost town.

The Promenade stood as a premier Los Angeles attraction at the start of the 2000s, drawing in local families, tourists, and even famous figures. Celebrities were frequently spotted there; one visitor even remembers encountering Bob Dylan, Paul McCartney, and Joe Montana during visits.

The famed publicist Michael Levine, a former Santa Monica resident who authored the book “Broken Windows, Broken Business: How the Smallest Remedies Reap the Biggest Rewards,” called the shutdowns “heartbreaking.”

“When you tolerate small signs of disorder — graffiti, loitering, unchecked vagrancy — you send a signal,” he said. “And people respond to signals. Customers go elsewhere. Businesses close. Investors retreat.”