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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[SheLion]

Anti Smokers scream it's for the GOOD OF THE EMPLOYEES. Well, when a business closes, what good is it then!

[SheLion]

Feel free to print out and take this to every restaurant/tavern/bar owner you can. At least give them heads up about what lies ahead for them!

[Chad Fairbanks]

Bttt...

[Phantom Lord]

I know that there is no way to do a complete list on this matter. But I can add 1 to the list from NY. O's in Endicott NY.

[Gabz]

Through personal knowlegde I can attest to the truth of the harm listed here by the establishments in Delaware.

A lot of the smaller taverns in southern Delaware (the 4 places listed are in the northern area close to the maryland and Pennsylvania border) are only making it because they have an off-sale license or are attached to a package store.

The owner of the package store in my old neighborhood told me she had seen an increase in sales immediately following the start of the ban, remember it went into effect the day before Thanksgiving, and it never slacked off. More people were staying home or entertaining at home.

Package stores, catering businesses and bars and restaurants in nearby states are the only beneficiaries of Delaware's ban.

One of my favorite places in dover was put on the market this summer, and that was one of the luckier places it has an outside deck - but that didn't help enough to overcome the devastation of the ban.

[Just another Joe]

Bookmarked and will print.

[Judith Anne]

Sorry to interrupt, please excuse me...please add your voices to the Rockefeller Must Resign thread, and thank you.

[CSM]

"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"

I wonder where the nanny lovers and anti's are going? Oh, that's right, since they are such weaklings in need of the government protecting them, they still cower in the dark at home!

[Phantom Lord]

And several others that are on the verge of closing. This winter, where smokers will be forced outside to smoke will be the determining factor in how long many places stay open.

A bar I have done lots of drinking at, and my family still up there drinks at a lot is on the edge. And we are all great friends with the owners and vacation together so it is a horrible thing to see.

Being that they can't smoke inside, they go outside to smoke and often bring their drinks with them. The owner, Nino is rightfully fearful of getting busted for having patrons drinking outside. But when your a small neighborhood part with the same 5 guys being a vast majority of your business you either demand they not go outside with their drinks or look the other way and risk getting cited for that violation.

[SheLion]

I know that there is no way to do a complete list on this matter. But I can add 1 to the list from NY. O's in Endicott NY.

List any and ALL that your aware of. Please!

[CSM]

"you either demand they not go outside with their drinks or look the other way and risk getting cited for that violation."

If he would risk a violation anyway, why not make the customers happy and risk the smoking violation?

[Phantom Lord]

People will call in violations of the smoking ban. They won't do that for someone standing outside with a drink. And they do it in the back of the bar in the alley way where they park their cars. So they are not visable from the main street in front of the bar. Far safer risk to take.

[MTR]

I vacation with my family in Lake George, NY each year and spend about $2000 to $3000 while there. I won't be going to Lake George next year or any year there after. I will take my nasty habit and my money and vacation in PA or NJ.

[abner]

I have a sign up in our office: This IS a Smoking Area.

[SheLion]

There is also a lot more in Maine that has been published as well. A LOT more.

And with the January ban coming to finish off the Bars and Taverns, the list will grow much longer.

[SheLion]

rry to interrupt, please excuse me...please add your voices to the Rockefeller Must Resign thread, and thank you.

Thanks for the heads-up, Judith Anne! Do you have that URL??

[TheOtherOne]

Businesses should be able to get Smoking Licenses, just like the can apply for and get liquor licenses. That way, the default for businesses will be non-smoking, but any that choses can become a smoking establishment.

Seems so simple to me. Which side, does not fairly get most of what they want with that solution? Smokers can business get to keep what they want - and non-smokers get the default for business to be non-smoking requiring some affirmative action on the business owner to make his business a smoking establishment.

[Seajay]

I simply cannot believe that such bastions of attitude such as the Pine Tree State and my birth place (NY) have put up with this bulls**t! Note also that it happened in New York right after 9/11 when we looked to the government for "protection" (remember how many here thought that was a good thing?).

This "runaway train" is heading my way soon (Baltimore County Maryland). It will destroy a way of life for many. I have searched long and hard for any news of resistance or outright defiance and found none.

Perhaps the only hope is compromise - let there be dives where the self destructive smokers can congregate and ban it in places where those who want to bring their kids and worry about smokey smelling clothes can roost for an hour and leave 5 per cent tips.

This is the end of the tavern, a way of life that gave America so much!

[SheLion]

I thought the ANTI-SMOKERS said that smoking bans would be GOOD for businesses!  That they could FINALLY go into a restaurant/bar/tavern and finally ENJOY the place.

I thought the ANTI-SMOKERS said that by booting out the SMOKERS, then  THEY could go in and frequent the place.

Well, evidentially, they didn't do what they promised, did they?  They did NOT pick up the slack to keep the business's running. They all talk out of both sides of their evil mouths.  They didn't care one iota that business's were hurt, suffering and closing doors.  All they cared about was WINNING over the lowly SMOKERS. 

Well, I hope they are all proud of themselves and how they sleep at night is beyond me.  But listen up ANTI's: WHAT GOES AROUND COMES AROUND.

[Phantom Lord]

Businesses should be able to get Smoking Licenses, just like the can apply for and get liquor licenses. That way, the default for businesses will be non-smoking, but any that choses can become a smoking establishment

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.

And if a license scheme is introduced we all know how it will end up. The price to get a license and the conditions to qualify for said license will start out low enough, but will quickly be jacked up to astronomical proportions as it will be seen as nothing more than another revenue stream for the government and these businesses will be considered easy pickins, just as smokers are with the tax increases on tobacco constantly happening.

We all know how government operates. But regarding the smoking ban in NY we need to go back a year. It was determined and businesses were advised that a smoking ban was NOT going to be put in place. But instead they were going to be required to install ceratin 'smoke eaters' in their bars. So businesses invested many thousands of dollars in these smoke eaters to be in compliance when the regulation they were told would happen became reality.

Didn't happen. Government changed its mind and went with a total smoking ban.