The Facts About The Smoking Ban. If you're a business owner or not, this is a must read!

The Facts Online ^ | 11-01-03 | Dave Hitt

[SheLion]

Every company's greatest assets are its customers, because without customers there is no company.
- Michael LeBoeuf

Businesses Harmed by Smoking Bans

Anti-smoking organizations insist that bans are somehow good for people in hospitality businesses. This chart shows otherwise. These businesses have lost a significant portion of their business as a direct result of smoking bans. Many are closed. Many that are still open have told us they doubt they'll survive much longer.

Most of this information comes directly from businesses that have contacted me or my colleagues. Some comes from newspaper articles. Blank spaces in the chart represent data that is unavailable, or that doesn't apply. (For instance, a distributor doesn't receive tips, and many owner-operators of small taverns don't have any employees other than themselves and family members.)

Business	Type Of Business	Closed?	Business Lost	Tips Lost	Jobs Lost	City	State
Crocodile Cafe	Restaurant	Closed	100%	100%		Tempe	AZ
Pooch's Easy Street Billiards	Pool Hall	Closed	100%	100%		Tempe	AZ
Laurel Bowl	Bowling Alley	Closed	100%	100%		San Luis Obispo	CA
385 league bowlers quit when the smoking ban went into effect, with a loss of $200,000. Laurel Bowl had been in business for 37 years before the ban.
Alexander Mackenzie Inn	Hotel	Not Yet	92%		16	Fort St. John	CAN
"Since we were `beaten' into compliance by the WCB, our business has dropped in the lounge from $1,000 a day to $80. "
Beacon Hill Arms	Tavern	Closed	100%	100%		Ottawa	CAN
Dave O'Connor, who successfully ran Ottawa's Beacon Hill Arms pub for nine years, said the ban forced him out of business. "From September to February, we lost close to $80,000 in sales"
Bud's Place	Tavern	Not Yet	23%			Cambrage	CAN
Gardeli's	Bar/Restaurant	Closed	100%	100%		Castlegar	CAN
Hemingway's	Bar/Restaraunt	Not Yet	40%		6	Ottawa	CAN
MacKenzie Lounge	Tavern	Not Yet	80%			Yellowknife	CAN
Mingles Coffee Shoppe	Coffee Shop	Closed	100%	100%		Kitchener	CAN
Rupert Pub	Tavern	Closed	100%	100%		Prince Rupert	CAN
Sky Garden	Restaurant	Closed	100%	100%	6	Ottawa	CAN
"It was 100% because of the bylaw. Sales dropped 50%. Our cups of coffee were down 400 to 500 a day, our meals 20 to 30 a day."
The Patch	Tavern	Not Yet	70%			St. Albert	CAN
Tubbys Pizza	Pizza Parlor	Not Yet	20%		2	Crescentwood	CAN
Back Stage Cafe	Bar/Restaurant	Closed	100%	100%	20	Wilmington	DE
Coach House	Bar/Restaurant	Closed	100%	100%	8	Wilmington	DE
Just Mugs Saloon	Tavern	Not Yet	33%			Bear	DE
Naamans Cafe	Restaurant	Closed	100%	100%	8	Wilmington	DE
Elks #1795	Lodge (Private Club)	Not Yet	40%	22%		Fort Walton	FL
"Charity money is down 45%. Our Charities are Kids of Florida and the Veterans. That is who is really getting hurt the most by this!"
Elks #2256	Lodge (Private Club)	Not Yet	20%	30%		Pensacola Beach	FL
"We've lost 70 members because of the ban"
Elks #2273	Lodge (Private Club)	Not Yet	60%	60%	1	Plantation	FL
Melons Bar & Grill	Bar/Restruant	Not Yet	50%			Port Charlotte	FL
The Falls	Restaurant	Closed	100%	100%		Naples	FL
"We lost 70 percent of our income," Renzello said. "The law put us out of business." 90 percent of her customers were smokers.
Bart's	Bar/Restaurant	Closed	100%	100%		Louisville	CO
Bart's had been in operation for nearly 30 years.
Gold Mine Restaraunt	Bar/Restaraunt	Not Yet	50%	50%	2	Fall River	MA
"There should be places for both the smoker and nonsmoker. I do not smoke but you are killing our business!!! "
Buffalo Wings and Beer	Bar/Restruant	Not Yet	50%			Gaithersburg	MD
Gentleman Jim's	Restaurant	Not Yet	40%			Gaithersburg	MD
J.J. Muldoon's	Bar/Restaurant	Not Yet	20%			Gaithersburg	MD
Middlebrook Restaurant and Lounge	Bar/Restaurant	Not Yet	50%			Germantown	MD
"I'm so bitter today because I have worked too hard to keep this business going. It's just not fair."
Pelican Pete's	Restaurant	Not Yet	60%			Germantown	MD
Tommy Joe's Restaurant	Restruant	Not Yet	30%			Bethesda	MD
Nutshell Tavern	Tavern	Closed	100%	100%		Biddeford	ME
Village Variety		Closed	100%			Fryeburg	ME
Grandma's	Restaraunt	Not Yet	33%			Cloquet	MN
Perkins	Restaraunt	Not Yet	26%			Duluth	MN
Aessa	Bar/Restaurant	Not Yet	35%		6	New York	NY
Argyle's EasyStreet Tavern	Tavern	Not Yet	12%			Cortland	NY
Athens Cafe	Restaurant	Not Yet	55%		10	Astoria	NY
Blessed Sacrament Church	Bingo	Not Yet	50%			Albany	NY
Brazen Head Pub	Tavern	Not Yet	40%			Monroe	NY
Brown Shanty	Tavern	Not Yet	20%		1	Watertown	NY
Champions Billiards Cafe	Brew Pub/Pool Hall	Not Yet	33%			Parkville	NY
Chili American Legion Post 1830	Private Club	Not Yet	70%			Scottsville	NY
Coleman's Irish Pub	Bar/Restaurant	Not Yet	19%		4	Syracuse	NY
Crossroads Steak House	Restaurant	Closed	100%	100%		Kennedy	NY
Delmar Sportsman's Tavern	Tavern	Not Yet	30%		1	Massena	NY
"We had hoped...nonsmokers who haven't been frequenting taverns due to the smoke-filled air would make up for at least some of the financial loss. Unfortunately, at least in our place, this has most definitely not happened. Our sales are at an all time low"
Desperado's	Tavern	Not Yet	90%			Wallkill	NY
"I can count on my fingers the people who don't smoke who come in here. The regulars say they won't come."
Dodesters	Tavern	Not Yet	9%			Syracuse	NY
Eagle Beverage Company	Distributor	Not Yet	25%	N/A		Oswego	NY
"Deliveries to pubs and taverns have decreased substantially, greater than 25 percent."
Edigan's	Restaurant	Closed	100%	100%		Binghamton	NY
End Zone	Bar/Restaurant	Not Yet	30%		1	Liverpool	NY
Euzkadi	Restaurant	Not Yet	50%			New York	NY
Fiddler's Green	Tavern	Closed	100%	100%		New York	NY
We have just lost too many customers to this law, which I did not vote for, bar owners did not vote for, bartenders did not vote for, and the public did not vote for."
Finish Line	Bar/Restaurant	Not Yet	40%		2	Bellerose	NY
Fountain Bowl	Bowling Alley	Not Yet	40%	N/A	8	Jamestown	NY
Golden Rail Ale House	Tavern	Not Yet	75%			Newburgh	NY
Harry's Hanover Square	Bar/Restaraunt	Closed	100%	100		New York	NY
"Overnight, we lost 60 percent of our evening bar trade. For the bar, it was the difference in profit and loss. Sales of expensive cigars had been almost as important as the sales of Scotch" Harry's had been in business for more than thirty years
Holmes & Watson's	Tavern	Not Yet	30%			Troy	NY
Hotel McDonald	Hotel	Not Yet	70%			Bath	NY
Just One More	Tavern	Not Yet	30%			Bath	NY
Liberty Lanes	Bowling	Not Yet	27%			Camden	NY
Mama Lena's	Restaurant	Closed	100%	100%		Binghamton	NY
Mama Lena's had been in business for more than 40 years.
Mel's Place	Tavern	Not Yet	78%	100%		Falconer	NY
"When we bought this place, we throught we were buying our American Dream. We ran it successfully for 10 years. Now the government is stripping us from making a living. "
Middleport Inn	Bar/Restaurant	Closed	100%	100%	13	Middleport	NY
"This damn state really knows how to kill people's dreams."
Millennium	Restaurant	Not Yet	40%		3	New York	NY
Nibsy's Pub	Bar/Restaurant	Not Yet	18%			Syracuse	NY
Rafferty's	Bar/Restaurant	Not Yet	35%		2	Syracuse	NY
Richard's Ole Timer	Bar/Restaurant	Not Yet	17%		1	Clay	NY
Roesch's Tavern	Tavern	Closed	100%	100%	5	New York	NY
This had been a family business for more than a century
Salingers	Tavern	Not Yet	35%		2	Rochester	NY
Sevens Bar	Tavern	Not Yet	10%			Malone	NY
Shamrock Tavern	Tavern	Not Yet	50%			Oswego	NY
"It's not right. Our livelihood is being taken away."
Slade	Restaurant	Not Yet	40%			New York	NY
Slick Willie's	Billiard Hall	Not Yet	25%			Tonawanda	NY
Stumble Inn	Tavern	Closed	100%	100%		Champlain	NY
Taylor's Trackside	Bar/Restaurant	Not Yet	50%			Remsen	NY
Temple Israel	Bingo	Not Yet	50%			Albany	NY
According to Herb Holland, some of the regulars told volunteers that they would abstain from playing bingo, to protest the smoking ban. He hasn't seen them since.
The Lilly Pad	Tavern	Closed	100%	100%		Falconer	NY
The Lodge at the Lake Inc	Bar/Restaurant	Not Yet	50%		1	Broadalbin	NY
The Loft	Tavern	Not Yet	30%			Frewsburg	NY
"Our town has no attractions to draw in outsiders. We have only locals to rely on as patrons and 95% of them smoke. It will be worse when the snow sets in."
The Roadhouse	Tavern	Not Yet	40%			Brewster	NY
Thompson Road Tavern	Bar/Restaurant	Not Yet	25%			Syracuse	NY
Village Tavern	Bar/Restaurant	Not Yet	10%			Marcellus	NY
Bliss' Steak Ranch	Restaurant	Closed	100%	100%		Eugene	OR
Closed after 32 years in business
Doc's Pad	Tavern	Closed	100%	100%	24	Eugene	OR
"Let's face it, the economy is horrible. But for us specifically, the smoking ban was the knockout punch." The Olsen family had owned Doc's for 16 years.
Max's Tavern	Tavern	Closed	100%	100%		Eugene	OR
The Peacock	Tavern	Not Yet	40%			Corvallis	OR
Connor owned the Peacock for years - and says it was the ban that caused him to sell the bar. He says business gross fell from $1.5 million in 1997, the year before the ban went into effect, to $900,000 last year.
China One	Restaurant	Closed	100%	100		Round Rock	TX

CAN=Canada

If your business has been harmed by a smoking ban, or if you know of one that has been, please let us know. If possible, have the owner contact us. Newspaper articles are also welcome. Please include the URL. .

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Last Update: Saturday, November 01, 2003

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[Gabz]

A problem we noticed in Delaware was people claiming to be going out for a smoke and not coming back and paying their bill.

We actually caught a couple of non-smokers doing it in one place. Now if you are not a regular you either have to pay as you go or hand over a credit card to run a tab.

That is happening in restaurants as well, particularly the places that are both a bar and a restaurant.

I'm so glad I don't live there any more.

[SheLion]

More business's that closed and/or suffering from the smoking bans. And how they had to lay off wait staff in order for some to survive:

• NUTSHELL TAVERN, Rte 1, Biddeford, Maine closes its doors due to smoking bans.
•  

• Press Herald News, January 6, 2000 * MINGLES COFFEE SHOP, Kitchener, closes after non-smoking bylaw passed--45% drop in business Kitchener-Waterloo Record, July 31, 2000
•  
• * TWELVE RESTAURANTS CLOSE in Brookline, MA , after smoking ban decimates business Lowell Sun, March 28, 2001
•  
• * In British Columbia, 200 WORKERS in 46 establishments have lost their jobs because of the smoking ban National Post, March 3, 2000
•  
• * Hotelier Don Ritaller, Victoria, fired his entire staff of 12
•  
• * J. P. MALONE'S PUB in Richmond, laid off eight of its 20 employees
•  
• * CLYDE'S RESTAURANT GROUP, one of the most popular and successful restaurants chains in the Washington DC area since 1963, suffered a staggering loss of sales after smoking was banned
•  
• * A survey of 300 alcoholic beverage serving operations in California, selected at random from a list of 7,216 shows that 60% experienced a decrease in business averaging more than 30%; 7% showed increased business averaging 8%. Guest Choice Network + 50.4% of the respondents indicated an increase in customer complaints/fights; + 65.0% indicated a loss of regular customers; + 59.0% indicated a loss of tips/gratuities for the bar and/or serving staff.
•  
• * THE DULUTH GRILL has closed after 16 years due to the smoking ban Duluth News
•  
•  * 130 TOBACCONISTS in California have been forced to close since the 1998 smoking bans and punitive tax increases SF Gate, July 1, 2001
•  
• * Thousands of employees have had their hours cut, and hundreds have lost their jobs because of the loss of the smoking customers who form a majority of their customer base.
•  
• " Dread, pink slips greet smoking ban ," Globe and Mail, December 29, 2000
•  
• * A recent study from British Columbia pointed out major economic and job losses after a provincial smoking ban took effect in January: After 80 days of the bylaw, 730 EMPLOYEES were let go , 9 BUSINESSES CLOSED and more than $16 MILLION was lost . The Ottawa Citizen Online, August 27, 2001
•  
• * Letter from a waitress in BC: " My livelihood is being jeopardized for my own protection, and I never asked to be saved ."
•  
• * A hotel-industry study released this week shows that San Francisco's hotel-occupancy rates have shrunk to 1994 levels. City hotels are operating at 74% capacity. Rooms priced at more than $160 are about 69% full. While those numbers aren't disastrous, they are a far cry from the stuffed hostelries we've been used to the last few years. San Francisco Examiner, April 19, 2001
•  
• * TWO MORE RESTAURANTS have closed in Weymouth, MA : J.C. Grear's in South Weymouth and the Aloha in Hingham. A fourth restaurant said business is way off. Weymouth News
•  
• * Corvallis, OR: Employment at the Peacock has dropped from 50 to 14. Owner John Carter says the business has lost 38 percent of its lottery income and more than half of its basic bar revenue since the law took effect State records support Carter's lament about lost business. The Register-Guard, September 24, 2000
•  
• * Clergymen complain that 40 BINGO HALLS have closed because of the smoking ban. These halls supported local charities. Sun-News, February 7, 2001
•  
• * BUD'S PLACE in Cambridge and said his sales have fallen 23 per cent since the smoking ban was implemented. His staff has shrunk to 12 from 17 and a full-time employee he's had on staff for 10 years has been cut back to three shifts a week " Restaurateurs rebel against smoking bans " The New-Standard, December 10, 2000
•  
• * Wareham rescinds smoking ban when restaurant owners prove business decreased 25-40%. "We knew it would hurt," Board of Health Chairman Ralph R. Thompson said of the board's decision to implement the ban, adding that he and his fellow board members weren't aware of just how devastating the ban's impact would prove to be on area businesses. Representatives from Wareham's Elks club said the ban had cut the attendance at their weekly bingo nights in half, crippling their ability to raise funds for scholarships and other civic endeavors . Standard-Times, 12/20/2000
•  
• Last Spring (just in time for tourist season), the same three anti-smoker members of Wareham's Board of Health put the smoking ban back in place.  Wareham is now smoker UNfriendly and
  restaurants, bars, and clubs and organizations are suffering. :-(
•  
• * In Washington State a smoking ban at the Spokane Interstate Fair went down in flames Monday after attendance dropped by roughly 22% (despite perfect weather) and county commissioners were deluged with calls and letters of protest. "Fair policy up in smoke," Dan Hansen, Spokesman-Review, 9/14/99
•  
• * Susan Barnes of the WATERWORKS RESTAURANT in Rockland ( Maine ) said she has lost more than $8,000 a month in liquor sales to other establishments since the restaurant smoking ban went into effect. Bangor Daily News, February 5, 2000
•  
• * Peter Martin, owner of John Martin's MANOR RESTAURANT AND LOUNGE in Waterville, said he proclaimed all Sundays in January to be no-smoking. Food and beverage sales dropped 25 percent and off-track betting revenue dropped 30 percent , he said Bangor Daily News , February 5, 2000
•  
• * ''On Saturday night, we had a band, two bartenders, two waitresses, a doorman, a floor man, and we grossed $33,'' said Dorsey Carey, manager of HANDLEBAR HARRY'S bar/restaurant in Cordage Park, after smoking was banned.. Boston Globe Online, September 9, 2001
•  
• * Owner of the CHATEAU LAFAYETTE, Jill Scott, said: "People can't say this isn't hurting us. I've closed down my kitchen and cut five shifts . I don't know where people are going, but they aren't here." Ottawa Sun, Tuesday, October 2, 2001
•  
• * After smoking bans were implemented, the number of Buffalo BINGO ESTABLISHMENTS dropped by about 20 percent, while city bingo fee revenues declined by 36 percent, according to officials. The Buffalo News, By BRIAN MEYER, News Staff Reporter, 7/24/01
•  
• * Mesa, AZ, banned most restaurant smoking in 1996. THE MARQUEE, the ZUR-KATE and ARIZONA JACK'S are the exceptions. They demonstrated that they lost so much business as a result of the ban that they were allowed to permit smoking. The Washington Post, Monday, February 19, 2001; Page A03
•  
• * The most recent Gallup poll on smoking, November 13-15, shows that even in the current climate more than half of Americans, 53%, still want to allow smoking sections in restaurants; a solid majority still favors the preservation of smoking areas in the workplace, 63%, as well as in hotels and motels, 72%. "...it really comes down to whether or not we have a right to tell private business owners what they can do in their own business." Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee, The Cabin, September 6, 2001

[Phantom Lord]

I have heard more than one business complain about just that.

[TheOtherOne]

I strongly disagree. We should not need to get a license from the government to do what we please on our private property. Private Property rights have been so eroded in this country that they practically do not exist any more.

Good for you, I hope you enjoy no rights because you want no compromise. I would vote to keep the bans over having none. You lose people like me with your all or nothing positions.

[Gabz]

Yes, I am sure you are correct.

During the blizzard last February any of the places that I know that were able to open totally ignored the ban, even the ones that had been following it. It's amazing, but I know of no citations made that particular week. probably because the snitches were all too afraid to go out in the snow!!!!

[StriperSniper]

Harry's Hanover Square

"Overnight, we lost 60 percent of our evening bar trade. For the bar, it was the difference in profit and loss. Sales of expensive cigars had been almost as important as the sales of Scotch" Harry's had been in business for more than thirty years

WOW! I used to work right across the street and often went in for a quick one or for a meeting. By 4:30 you had to fight through three deep to get to the bar, and the clientele ranged from back-office clerks to some of the heaviest hitters on Wall Street.

[Phantom Lord]

Tell me, what is the difference between the government banning smoking in private businesses and the government forcing businesses to allow smoking?

It should be the absolute and sole decision of the OWNER!

And it isnt stopping at bars and restaurants. NY is considering banning smoking in YOUR CAR!

[ml/nj]

ping

[TheOtherOne]

I live in LA, we went through all that years ago. The joke of 'smoking' and 'non-smoking' sections in the same restaurant, with no actual barriers. Now we have an all out ban. I am perfectly happy with things as they are. But I am willing to have businesses have the right to allow smoking. Guess you prefer nothing to a license. You will never get what you are seeking - I would take the resonable path to get smoking back into the restaurants and bars that choose.

[StriperSniper]

Do you have that URL??

Rockefeller Must Resign!

[Phantom Lord]

Towns have tried banning smoking in private residences. Luckily it hasnt happened yet. But if such a ban ever becomes real, should people have to get a permit to smoke in their home?

[TheOtherOne]

It should be the absolute and sole decision of the OWNER!

In a private home fine. In a public business....there are rules. One cannot show porn in a McDonalds or serve alcohol in an ice cream truck. You want total freedom - that is simply not the society we live in. There are rules and regulations - I am not a fan of all or many of them. So long as they are resonable, there is not some huge problem. The owner of a business should be able to decide whatever type of business they want to have - but they need to comply with the rules to have such a business. If they want drinking or smoking or whatever - then they should comply with rules to allow that. Why should smoking not be subject to those same type of rules?

[Gabz]

That is logical and makes perfect sense - that is why it will NOT be done.

[wattsmag2]

Nice article. BUT, it is you're or you are, not your.

[GWfan]

I don't smoke. I am actually allergic to cigarette smoke, 2 allergists have told me so. I should be the one to want businesses to outlaw smoking, but I, like you, think this decision is up to the owners.

My rights have never been infringed, IMO. I have the freedom to choose to do business at a smoking or non-smoking establishment.

Prop 200 smoking ban was just passed in the nearby town. All this will do is bring more business to my town....as long we don't let the same thing pass.

[GWfan]

Because smoking is not against the law for adults. It is not a drug which impairs cognitive thinking. Therefore it does not require special licensing as liquor does.

[Chad Fairbanks]

Good for you, I hope you enjoy no rights because you want no compromise. I would vote to keep the bans over having none. You lose people like me with your all or nothing positions.

I agree. We should all bend over, spread our cheeks, and compromise away our private property rights. That is certainly the solution.

[CSM]

"In a private home fine. In a public business....there are rules."

Yep, and most of those rules are to protect a customer from dangers that they can not see. Food prep, cleanliness of cooking area, etc. are all out of sight of the customer. Smoking is clearly detectable by the non smoker, therefore their freedom to choose to leave is not infringed upon! I would state that the government rules are wrong in all of the cases. I would love to set up a certification business and run it privately. I could use a rating system and charge a certification fee to inspect and rate a restaurant. That would eliminate the government and allow potential customers to get the same assurances.

The owner of the property should have more rights than any one else on that property. The owner should be able to refuse access to that property to anyone they wish. I think they should refuse access to all Anti's and nanny needers!

If the anti smokers wanted a place to dine and socialize over adult beverages, no one was stopping them from investing in such a place. If a market existed, then they would have been successful. Instead, the government legislated bans are killing a market that existed. All in the name of fairness, they would rather eliminate businesses than invest in competition. This just shows how weak they are in expecting the government to for their convenience. No work done or risk taken, yet they are now able to not be offended anywhere they may want to go!

[freeangel]

In that case, this list needs to go to the employees of these types of businesses. They may be the only people who might have a say in these situations.

[Chad Fairbanks]

Agreed. All that "We'd be out there patronizing these places if htey'd just get rid of the nasty stunky selfish smokers! We would! And there are a lot more of us than there are smokers." was a load of hooey from the get-go...

Anti-smoking activists are no JUST busybodies, but liars, too.