It’s been nine months since the statewide smoking ban passed, but some bar owners have yet to get over it. Count Johnny Tedeschi, owner of Johnny Rotten’s in Middleburg Heights, as leader of the resistance movement. In the window in front of his bar, Tedeschi keeps a running tally of all the clubs closed since the bans passed. He doesn’t say from where he’s gathered his data, so it’s probably from the Association for Statistics Made Up By Guys Named Johnny, a very reliable organization operated out of Johnny Rotten’s handicapped stall.
Here, according to the sign in Tedeschi’s window, is the latest bar death toll, here and elsewhere:
26 Ohio bars gone now due to smoking ban.
Ireland: 5
New York: 41
Minnesota: 17
Canada: 56
— Rebecca Meiser
This article appears in Jul 25-31, 2007.
His numbers are low. Very low. In Minnesota’s Twin-Cities alone, we’ve lost over 200 bars and restaurants since local bans took effect in 2005. The ban supporters will argue that all of those can’t be counted, because “bars close all the time” and new ones open. True. On average, 7 bars close a year. Post ban, it’s 100 a year. That’s the same…
I agree that the numbers are way way low. I know of 2 just on my street that have closed!
This argument is akin to saying that we should allow chemical companies and corporate america pollute the environment in the name of profits.
It baffles my mind there is such a large percentage of these bar’s patrons who are chain-smokers because for the most part, all other smokers can adjust to occassionally stepping outside to puff.
The tone of this article is sarcastic and disbelieving. Trust me: the law has hurt bar owners. My bar’s business is down 30% since December 7th (our bar’s owner obeyed the letter of the law even before enforcement); dozens of our best customers haven’t set foot in the place since it went smoke-free, and the few new faces don’t come in as often or drink as much. Many bars that are doing well have real estate and cash flow enough for large outdoor seating areas… and some are flat-out ignoring the law, secure in the knowledge that understaffed health departments simply work after 5:00.
Er… understaffed health departments simply WON’T work after 5:00.
I wonder if this is somehow related to the post 1:29 before it.
Not a single bar I frequent has closed.
Yes, bars close all the time. And maybe a few bars running pennies above bankruptcy will be pushed under. That’s not a good reason to allow the health consequences of smoking in bars.
We don’t score our well being by how many bars we can support.
Assuming that everybody who works or frequents a bar is 18 or over (as is the case in the vast majority of bars), who inside is unqualified to assess the risk of working or playing in a smokey environment? Each of these adults is legally entitled to smoke at home, in as small and unventilated a room as they choose… what makes them suddenly unable to make such a decision in public? Further, what forces someone who hates secondhand smoke to enter such an environment?
In an environment with children present– we can assume that children are not legally empowered to opt for a hazardous environment– there should be measures in place to prevent smoking. But in a public establishment that categorically forbids minors, everybody who is permitted to enter is capable of choosing to do so (or choosing to take their business elsewhere).
In the ideal situation, Governments protect the citizens that comprise their city, state, or nation.
It’s nice to have paved roads and operational traffic signals. It’s nice to have police officers arrive promptly at the request of frightened residents of a city. Government oversight is not entirely covert and evil.
There is a blurred distinction between one’s rights and one’s privileges in American life. You cannot pursue life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness to the detriment of another.
Smoking is a privilege. I smoke, and usually only while drinking at bars. People adapt. It actually allows you to meet people outside, a little subculture.
Smoking is, indeed, a privilege. It surely isn’t a right. Drinking is a privilege as well. So why can’t we drink behind the wheel of a car…because it could impair the health of those in the way of the car.
Same with smoking, smoking impairs the health of other people in the room. Telling non-smokers not to be in bars is like telling drivers and pedestrians to stay off of the roads so that drunk people can drive.
I am from Fort Wayne, Indiana… recently the next culprit in the smoking ban era. I’m working with my company to try and help the local bars and restaurants gain business in the aftermath. We are concentrating more on food and service quality (not what you would have expected in a bar a year ago). I am looking for any suggestions that are out there to give to these bars and restaurants as an opportunity to save themselves. For example, a lot of the bars and clubs have created outside patios for smokers to stand for endless hours while their nonsmoking friends are inside dancing and drinking the night away. I see this as a temporary solution. What will they do when winter comes? Last time I checked, it still gets cold here in winter. If anyone has any suggestions, that would be great!
Thanks, Kristen
Restaurants (including Applebee’s-type “Grill & Bar” joints) can shift their target demographic to a more family-friendly atmosphere, as parents actively seek smoke-free dining when out with their children. Restaurants can also try move to a more turnover-oriented business model– get lots of people in and out quickly, as opposed to keeping a large crowd for an extended period of time.
For bars– honest to goodness bars intended as adult drinking establishments and little else– there is precious little to be done (aside from the patio option) if a smoking ban hurts business, especially in the event of a local ban (Minneapolis did this a few years ago, to devastating effect). The two “best” options seem to be:
1) Ignore the law until it catches up to you financially. The way Ohio’s law is being enforced, for example (at least 60-90 days between citations), it’ll likely be years before any establishment sees significant fines. Contrast this with the $50,000 in gross sales my small bar has lost since the law took effect in December (that’s over $6,000 a month), and the math works out in favor of ignoring the law for months or years. Several bars and private clubs in my town have ignored the law, with no fines to date, and some have seen tremendous spikes in business as a result (smokers migrating out of smoke-free bars).
2) Wait for lost business and/or fines to put some of your competition out of business. In theory, each tavern that ceases operations means more patrons to go around for the establishments that survive.
I go to Mister B’s Irish Pub to relax. I smoke on their new outdoor patio with my beer. There is no smoking allowed inside because the owner complies with the law!
Some of the other bars in the neighbor hood allow smoking inside and are taking a chance
of getting fined. I’m glad Mister B’s Pub built a smoking patio for us!
Ray
I blame the people that choose to smoke!! Nobody is forcing them to smoke. Forgive us non-smokers if we like to breath clean air!