Tropacabana



The use of a bar, nightclub or restaurant as the central location of a work. The characters may visit other locations over the course of the story, but they will usually begin and end the plot back in the establishment. Some may even live there, in a back room or on the floor above, and they may be the reason the others spend their time there.

Ultimately, for a work to qualify for this trope, its characters must spend well over half their "on-screen" time in the establishment.

Can be a Local Hangout, a Good Guy Bar or any other variety of restaurant, bar or club, as long as it is the primary (indeed, default) location in which the characters are to be found.

Not to be confused with Tropicana, except of course when the Tropicana is the setting for a story.

Anime and Manga

 * Working!! barely qualifies, with over half of the scenes taking place in the "Wagnaria" restaurant.

Comic Books

 * While it did not focus on one specific location, the comic book series Common Grounds revolved entirely around the interactions between superheroes and supervillains in various branches of the titular coffee shop chain, which serves as neutral ground.

Fan Works

 * The RWBY Alternate Universe fanfic Service with a Smile by Coeur Al'Aran revolves almost entirely around "Jaune's", a coffee shop/diner opened by Jaune Arc after he fails to get into Beacon Academy. When it doesn't, it's frequently in Junior's bar (as seen in the "Yellow" trailer and V2).

Film

 * The majority of the action in Holiday Inn takes pace in the titular Inn. When it doesn't, it takes place mostly in nightclubs in New York City.

Literature

 * The Callahan's Crosstime Saloon series takes place almost entirely within the walls of Callahan's Place on Long Island, NY. Its sequel series is set in a Spiritual Successor to Callahan's called "Mary's Place", located in Key West, Florida.

Live-Action TV

 * Cheers, of course, spends 95%+ of its time in the eponymous bar.
 * The 1980s ABC Work Com It's a Living was set in "Above the Top", a restaurant located at the top of the Bonaventure Hotel in Los Angeles, California.
 * Similarly, the 1970s-vintage CBS Work Com Alice spent almost all its airtime in Mel's Diner.
 * The British series Chef! took place predominantly in the prestigious Château Anglaise, said to be the best French restaurant in England.
 * The short-lived 1994-1995 FOX series The George Carlin Show took place for the most part in The Moylan Bar.
 * Time Gentlemen Please, a British Sit Com broadcast on ITV from 2000 to 2002, and set in an officially unnamed pub generally called "the pub by the chemical works", although in one second-season episode a sign calling it "The Cowshed" is made.
 * Whites, a 2010 BBC series set in the restaurant of the White House hotel.
 * Archie Bunker's Place, the sequel series to All in the Family, spent most of its time in the titular bar.

Music

 * The almost-Trope Namer is Barry Manilow's 1978 single "Copacabana". Although the song spans thirty years or more, all of its action takes place in the titular club.

Theatre

 * The Magic Show takes place entirely in The Top Hat, a run-down nightclub in Passaic, NJ.

Video Games

 * Mario Party 4 has one on the board Koopa's Seaside Soiree, called the Koopa Kabana. It occupies the center of the board and is built up when players pass Kabana spaces, which forces them to invest 5 coins each time; this is likely a call back to the Koopa Bank of previous games). Unlike said bank, however if a player lands on one of the event spaces near the Kabana, they're forced to stay for a week at a price equal to the total investment. On top of that, the Kabana is promptly totaled by a tidal wave soon after, essentially robbing the unfortunate player.