People are partying hard at Dos Gringos Trailer Park's new and much bigger digs at the bar's grand opening April 15. Groups of guys clink bottles of $2 Coronas, while ladies slam shots and mingle throughout the very crowded bar, which was formerly Shady Grove and, prior to that, the Thirsty Beaver.

No one is doing body shots — a tradition at the old location on University Drive and Forest Avenue — but the night is young.
The music (Usher's make-you-want- to-shake-your-booty song "Yeah!") is blaring and my friends and I can hardly move. Although it is only 8 p.m. on this Thursday, the new Dos is celebrating its grand opening and is packed with wall- to-wall people. It's like being on spring break in Mexico with the majority of the ASU student body. And the eye candy is everywhere.
“I was a frequent visitor of the old place, but change is OK,’’ says Rob Malara, 24, of Chandler. “There is a lot of room here. I like being able to hide from people.’’

You certainly couldn't hide from people at the old Dos. Trust us, we've tried. And though it was a tradition to celebrate the end of mid-terms at the bar every semester, it would become so unbearably crowded that we rarely lasted more than an hour on weekends. But the new location is open and spacious, more than three times the size of the old Dos.
Coronas in hand, we explore the new Dos. In a side room, which is relatively quiet, there are a couple of cool lounge areas where you can chill or escape to make a phone call. We love the steel mobile home lounge, which is decorated with patio furniture ala Mickey's Hangover. There is also a dim ‘‘Retro Lounge’’ if you want to retreat somewhere quiet with a date.

In the same room, there is a white picket fence surrounding several colorful tables and chairs. A handful of video and pinball games are in one corner of the bar and a mobile home-looking bar, which isn't open yet, is in another. This is by far our favorite room. We love the cotton balls, which resemble clouds, that hang from the ceiling. Upstairs, there is a large patio area with Corona umbrella-covered tables where you can watch the first-floor action. “I like the two-story thing,” says Jason Inskeep, 23, of Chandler. “It's cool that you can look down at the people below you.’’

There are bars and beer tubs everywhere, which is convenient considering we never have to wait long for a drink. Before we leave, we hit the restroom to see if they feature the tacky shower curtains that covered two stalls at the old Dos. They don't. The restroom is much bigger. A group of women express how pleased they are that the curtains aren't a fixture here.

The results are in: The new Dos rocks.

What: Dos Gringos Trailer Park
Where: 1001 E. Eighth St., Tempe
Hours: 11 to 1 a.m. daily
Info: and www.dosgringosaz.com