From its downtown Farmers Market to its rolling green hills, the charming city of San Luis Obispo is known for many attractions, including a unique nightlife activity commonly seen throughout town: trivia night.
In this rich and competitive culture of trivia night, people from different ages and backgrounds unite at a variety of restaurants and breweries in San Luis Obispo, bringing their knowledge for topics ranging from general knowledge to meteorological mysteries.
Milestone Tavern is one of the many locations that hosts a trivia night. From 8-10 p.m. on Tuesdays, players at the tavern put their skills to the test. Participant Aimee Burrus has gone to trivia at Milestone for two years.
“I think my favorite part is just that the different categories are so random and it gives a little bit for everybody, like you never know what you’re going to know,” Burrus said.
To prepare for these random categories, Burrus said she and her trivia teammates study for current events using CNN and NPR Stranger News for up to a week beforehand.
“Just go for a good time, and if you do badly that’s just more opportunity for learning,” Burrus said.
While participants focus on scoring a correct trivia question, the hosts observe the lively scene while moderating the rules and interacting with the players.
Construction management senior Brendon Duran has been the trivia night host at Milestone Tavern since April 2023. He said that he likes to sit down, hangout and chat with trivia participants.
“Everyone’s pretty friendly, also a little competitive too, so I always enjoy that aspect,” he said.
Seeing how many college students the weekly competition attracts, Duran also said trivia fulfills an average college student’s wants and needs.
“In a university or college town you’ve got a bunch of young kids that are one, like, hypercompetitive but also are looking kind of for a reason to drink and an intellectual challenge,” he said.
When preparing for trivia night, Duran suggested getting a team with multiple interests and skill sets together to avoid overlap with the information.
Woodstock’s Pizza also hosts trivia on Mondays at 8 p.m.
Woodstock’s was the first restaurant in San Luis Obispo to have trivia nights, starting 10-15 years ago, according to Woodstock’s general manager Mike Swift.
“It’s caught on in popularity and seems to be a pretty fun event and seems to be popular with not only students, but we get professors and professional people in here on trivia night,” Swift said.
Trivia night is not limited to San Luis Obispo’s restaurants; Cal Poly hosts its very own three times a quarter. Free with a PolyCard, trivia night provides a space for students to test their random knowledge skills without having to leave campus.
Once located at Mustang Station until this quarter, trivia has been held in the Chumash Auditorium for the past two trivia nights, according to ASI. The location of the third night has not been determined.
Marine science freshman Anna Mooradian has been to three Cal Poly trivia nights and said she likes getting together with her friends for them.
“Most of us didn’t know each other at first and then we came here for trivia,” Mooradian said.
Trivia nights at Cal Poly are hosted by Larry Peña, who has been hosting trivia on campus since 2018. Peña has also been hosting trivia at Bang The Drum Brewery since 2016 and has his own “pub-style trivia” quiz creator company called Brain Stew Trivia. The company also provides a subscription service and live entertainment for events, according to its website.
“The crowd that I get at both at Cal Poly and at Bang The Drum is pretty big and possibly one of the biggest crowds at any of the games in town,” Peña said.
Other than being on stage running the show, Peña said his favorite part of hosting is writing fun trivia rounds with clever or funny themes.
Trivia nights in San Luis Obispo:
Woodstock’s Pizza SLO – Mondays at 8 p.m.
Buffalo Pub and Grill – Mondays at 7:30 p.m.
Milestone Tavern – Tuesdays 8-10 p.m.
BA Start Arcade Bar – Tuesdays 8-10 p.m. (21+ only after 8 p.m.)
Antigua Brewing Company – Wednesdays at 6:30 p.m.
Leroy’s at The Wayfarer – Wednesdays at 7 p.m.
Bang The Drum Brewery – Wednesdays 7-9 p.m.
Barrel House Brewing – Wednesdays at 8-9 p.m. (21+)
Kreuzberg California – Thursdays 7:30-9 p.m.
Saints Barrel Wine Bar – Every mid-month on Thursdays
