Soooo, how's that smokin' ban goin' for ya?
This month's Saint Paul Avenues (no electronic version) has an interesting, in-depth look into how the smoking ban is working in Ramsey County that you won't read in any of the Twin Cities major newspapers.
According to the article by writer Kevin Driscoll, all is not well in the Capital city since the country enacted a partial ban on smoking.
Mike Lee, a manager at the iconic Lexington resturaunt on Grand Ave. is quoted as saying:
" The smoking ban has definately hurt our business."
"Our main dining room and our private party room are doing fine, but the bar, where we offer a full menu has been suffering at lunch when lobbists and legislators stop in, and late night when people used to come in for a brandy and a cigar or cigarette."
Driscoll notes that before the ban, the Lex's bar was always full until 11:30, or later but now Lee says "Now the bar is empty at 9:30, even on a Sunday night."
Up the street at Dixies on Grand, things are even worse.
"Business is down quite" a bit said owner John Wolf. "People can smoke on the patio during warm weather, but it's going to be bad this winter." "I'm not panicking yet, but I'm not hearing good things from anybody who's gone smoke free"
Jeanne Weigum, the president and harpy-in-charge of the Association for Non-Smokers Rights isn't shedding any tears. Weigum and her crew, along with city council buffoon Dave Thune were largely responsible for the ban's enactment. Weigum is quoted as saying, "People will just have to adjust." "The buggy whip went out with the horse and carriage too, that's just the way it goes."
I found the next comment somewhat pleasing in a very vindictive way. One of the few resturaunts to support a smoking ban was the Tavern on Grand. In fact Weigum and Co. made a very public pilgrimage there to celabrate their victory, but evidently haven't made good on their promises to dine out more often now that they can find smoke free venues.
Brad Rebers, the Tavern's manager says "A lot of people had a knee jerk reaction to the smoking ban." "We're not dying from it, but even if we were we couldn't do much about it because we rent the building and it would cost too much to make the necessary changes to get an exemption."
"We'll just have to grin and bear it."
Grin away Brad, you've earned it.
Similar stories are told by owners and managers of Chammps and the Glockenspeil on west 7th as well, but not every one is experiencing hard times. Bars that recieved an exemption are cashing in on the exodus from their non-smoking competitors.
Costello's Bar & Grill on Selby, which the wife and I visited last night and enjoyed the "No Thune" sticker prominently displayed on the door, has seen a large upswell in business. The bartender told us that Dave Thune's daughter and her boyfriend used to work there, but left after tha ban took effect.
Evidently they don't share the owners sense of humor.
Over in Minneapolis, where there are no exemptions possible, the story notes that Gabby's in Nord East has laid off 50% of their staff while the nearby Dubliner Pub on University in St. Paul is booming.
Private property rights advocates should be heartened by this news. Fact's are hard things to ignore and the facts are that this intrusion into our right to do as we please on private property is killing the hospitality business in the Twin Cities.
And the much touted influx of carefree non-smokers to replace the lost business has not materialized which shouldn't surprise anyone. Barking Moonbats like Jeanne Weigum and her crew never intended to take advantage of thier victory, and they couldn't give a shit less about lost business.
They are out there planning their next victims..
..big Mac anyone? Better get 'em while you can.
According to the article by writer Kevin Driscoll, all is not well in the Capital city since the country enacted a partial ban on smoking.
Mike Lee, a manager at the iconic Lexington resturaunt on Grand Ave. is quoted as saying:
" The smoking ban has definately hurt our business."
"Our main dining room and our private party room are doing fine, but the bar, where we offer a full menu has been suffering at lunch when lobbists and legislators stop in, and late night when people used to come in for a brandy and a cigar or cigarette."
Driscoll notes that before the ban, the Lex's bar was always full until 11:30, or later but now Lee says "Now the bar is empty at 9:30, even on a Sunday night."
Up the street at Dixies on Grand, things are even worse.
"Business is down quite" a bit said owner John Wolf. "People can smoke on the patio during warm weather, but it's going to be bad this winter." "I'm not panicking yet, but I'm not hearing good things from anybody who's gone smoke free"
Jeanne Weigum, the president and harpy-in-charge of the Association for Non-Smokers Rights isn't shedding any tears. Weigum and her crew, along with city council buffoon Dave Thune were largely responsible for the ban's enactment. Weigum is quoted as saying, "People will just have to adjust." "The buggy whip went out with the horse and carriage too, that's just the way it goes."
I found the next comment somewhat pleasing in a very vindictive way. One of the few resturaunts to support a smoking ban was the Tavern on Grand. In fact Weigum and Co. made a very public pilgrimage there to celabrate their victory, but evidently haven't made good on their promises to dine out more often now that they can find smoke free venues.
Brad Rebers, the Tavern's manager says "A lot of people had a knee jerk reaction to the smoking ban." "We're not dying from it, but even if we were we couldn't do much about it because we rent the building and it would cost too much to make the necessary changes to get an exemption."
"We'll just have to grin and bear it."
Grin away Brad, you've earned it.
Similar stories are told by owners and managers of Chammps and the Glockenspeil on west 7th as well, but not every one is experiencing hard times. Bars that recieved an exemption are cashing in on the exodus from their non-smoking competitors.
Costello's Bar & Grill on Selby, which the wife and I visited last night and enjoyed the "No Thune" sticker prominently displayed on the door, has seen a large upswell in business. The bartender told us that Dave Thune's daughter and her boyfriend used to work there, but left after tha ban took effect.
Evidently they don't share the owners sense of humor.
Over in Minneapolis, where there are no exemptions possible, the story notes that Gabby's in Nord East has laid off 50% of their staff while the nearby Dubliner Pub on University in St. Paul is booming.
Private property rights advocates should be heartened by this news. Fact's are hard things to ignore and the facts are that this intrusion into our right to do as we please on private property is killing the hospitality business in the Twin Cities.
And the much touted influx of carefree non-smokers to replace the lost business has not materialized which shouldn't surprise anyone. Barking Moonbats like Jeanne Weigum and her crew never intended to take advantage of thier victory, and they couldn't give a shit less about lost business.
They are out there planning their next victims..
..big Mac anyone? Better get 'em while you can.
posted by Swiftee at 9:01 PM
7 Comments:
Swiftee: Tax records will tell the real story of the economic impact -- if there is any -- of the smoking bans in the Twin Cities. The publisher of Avenues and the Villager has made no secret of his pro-smoke views, so I was not surprised by the tone of the article (or of your posting).
I was surprised by the obvious bitterness and mean-spirted tone of Mark Wernimont's (aka marcus a.)last few postings in The Attic. It was over the top, even for Mark.
Next time you and your wife go out on the town, Swiftee, let me recommend Chang O'Hara's or the classic Sweeney's (try the chili). The Groveland Tap is a great spot for beer and burgers, too.
Yes, they are all smokefree, and they are doing quite well, it seems.
So are you saying that Driscoll didn't accurately quote the business owners?
Or are you saying that the business owners are lying?
Funny you should mention Sweeney's; we did in fact stop by there on Sunday.
We noticed that they had a prominent no smoking sign on the front door and used our discretion to find a place that was more accomodating, which is how we ended up at Costello's.
Bob --
Perhaps some day you will address the fundamental fallacy that tax records will tell the whole economic story. Tax records will show what economic impact, if any, there is on government finances -- they will not show the impact on individual businesses.
If people stop contributing to the American Lung Association and instead give to HIV research, charitable contributions will remain constant. Does that mean the ALA work is unaffected? Same principle, only in the latter case it's not government forcing the issue, but a marketplace response -- just as it is when people voluntarily decide to patronize non-smoking establishments.
Government implemented a smoking ban, which is affecting some businesses more than others. Than ban is arbitrary in the sense that the public health benefit proposed does not justify (and can be achieved through other means) curtailing individual rights. In spirit if not in letter of the law, taxpayers (as imposed on them by Thune et. al) should be on the hook to reimburse businesses for the "benefits" derived from the ban. Instead, you want a free ride -- Marcus loses his livelihood to subsidize your smoke-free chili.
Bottom line, Bob. You keep harping on tax receipts. When are you going to address the issue of the individual business owner?
Craig makes an excellent point one that I am sure the non-profits already know, though they just ignore because it's always somebody else's job, livelihood, business, mortgage, etc.
Lung is correct my last few posts have been bitter, I wish you better composure on your next job loss. With all the pharmaceutical money flowing in you'll have nothing to worry about for some time....until the lawyers begin attacking pharmaceutical nicotine makers, and their pawns, as they did cigarette makers.
Here’s some real numbers on tax receipts. Real economics work on Bob like garlic on a vampire; it doesn‘t stop him from wanting to suck the blood out of free markets, but it tends to keep him away. From the Houston Press --
“Two University of North Texas economists studied the effects of the smoking ban in restaurants, and the results were released in October 2004: Dallas lost $11.8 million (or 3.6 percent) in alcoholic beverage sales in 2003 compared with 2002. You could blame it on a sliding economy, but business was booming in the smoke-friendly suburbs, where hooch sales increased from 3.2 percent (Richardson) to 7.9 percent (Plano) to 12.2 percent (Frisco). The only other city showing a loss was Irving, down 0.8 percent.”
Okay, what do these numbers tell us, and what don’t they. First, they might very well support Bob’s point that overall there is no economic impact from a smoking ban. We don’t know the real numbers, but looking at the percentage losses and gains, it is just as valid to assume that the increased sales in the Dallas suburbs more than made up in tax revenue the losses in Dallas proper. So Bob’s aggregate argument might or might not be valid.
But what this data certainly points to is that Dallas, which has a smoking ban, definitely did lose business. Within Dallas, certain business lost more than others. Within the neighborhoods those businesses were located other businesses lost money. Suppliers to those businesses all lost money. And these losses were not due to any poor business management on their parts -- many bars and restaurants installed expensive ventilation systems and separate dining areas in response to the desires of the majority (not all, but the economic majority) of their customers. The culprit was an arbitrary government action.
Deal with it, Bob. You’re “protecting” the health of bartenders and servers that have the freedom to seek other employment is destroying bartender and server jobs, robbing them of the chance of employment while it is closing down or reducing the revenue of business owners who have no freedom of choice options.
I’d ask how you can sleep at night, but your reluctance to address the issue tells me that question would be irrelevant.
I'm impressed Craig...like garlic.
Mr. Swift: I'm just saying that if you set out to write a story that states the smoking ban has harmed business, you can find sources willing to be quoted in support of that yet unproven premise.
Likewise, another reporter could write a story with a different conclusion, also quoting local business owners. A really clever writer like Craig might be able to write either story, using the same sources. That's why we need to see the tax data -- hard facts, not personal opinion -- to measure any economic impact the bans might have.
Tom, I would not say the business owners were lying. I just would like to hear what they have to say a year from now on the subject.
Craig: As you are fond of saying, clever sayings don't win arguments. My job is to speak out on behalf of all Minnesotans with lung disease, to help others from developing lung disease (which is often fatal and incurable) and to advocate for clean air, indoors and out. I am not an unpaid shill for the Minnesota hospitality industry (which, by the way, saw the second highest number of new jobs in MN, according to the April 2005 employment report).
Since I don't act as an apologist for an tobacco industry connected many thousands of American deaths, I sleep fine, my friend (and not in a coffin, as some suggest).
You know by now that I could see your Dallas study, and raise the stakes on the table with other studies that draw different conclusions: from Duluth, Santa Fe, Lexington (KY), New York City, the list goes on and on...
So we go nowhere with our dueling studies..
As a professional writer, you know how to use strong words in your concluding statements: "..destroying...robbing...freedom..." Very dramatic -- one might even say you were stomping your rhetorical feet. Say, what DO rhetorical feet look like?
PS to Marcus: No, I'm not gay. I just dress better than you. As I have told you before, I wish no harm on you and your family, but the days of smoking in Minnesota bars and restaurants are coming to an end. We all know this is true.
Bob Moffitt
Communications Director
American Lung Association of Minnesota
PPS: All our nation's top pro-smoke zealots (Silk, McFadden, Jeffers) read our blog, do you? Add us to your blogroll today!
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