Posted on 01/06/2003 6:58:16 AM PST by SheLion
It's been in place for five years now, but many Yuba-Sutter bar owners and patrons said they have yet to become accustomed to California's ban on smoking in bars.
At establishments such as Stassi's Fourth Ward Tavern in Marysville this weekend, business owners were still fuming over the ban, which took effect in January 1998.
The ban - a first for the nation - was intended to protect bartenders from health risks posed by second-hand smoke.
Yet Roy Newlove, the owner of Stassi's for roughly 10 years, said it does nothing more than slow business and cause headaches for his employees. Like many, Newlove called the ban a misguided attempt to protect public health.
"I think if the government helps me one more time I'll be out of business," Newlove said as most of his customers nodded in agreement.
Many bar owners throughout the area agreed the ban is a nuisance that has diminished the charm of going out for a drink.
Debbie and Doug Erhardt, the owners of Field and Stream Tavern in Marysville, said business has fallen off by as much as $2,000 on weekends since the ban took effect.
Fewer people want to go to Field and Stream now because the smoking ban forces them to go outside whenever they want to have a cigarette, Debbie Erhardt said.
"Nobody wants to go outside in 100 degree weather or in the cold," Erhardt said.
Ernie Leach, owner of the Corner Bar in Yuba City, said the ban has not been a major obstacle to building a clientele. Since he opened the bar a year ago, Leach said he never had to face the difficulty of telling loyal customers to put out their cigarettes.
However, the ban often causes him to force customers outside when they want to light up, Leach said.
"I have people complain about it all the time, but they just have to go outside," Leach said. "I think a person ought to have a choice and especially at a place called a bar."
The ban also has caused frustration among bartenders, who say it has added stress to their jobs.
Nancy Simpson, 40, a bartender at Jack's Tavern in Marysville, said the ban hurts bartenders who smoke by forcing them to leave their customers behind whenever they want to light up.
The ban also encourages smokers to sneak drinks outside the bars so they can drink while smoking, she said.
"They walk out with their drinks and then I have to ask them to leave," Simpson said.
Newlove said the ban also adds noise to streets and creates unsightly - and sometimes unruly - crowds outside bars.
"As soon as you've got everybody outside you lose control," Newlove said.
Some bar owners have managed to circumvent the ban by taking advantage of areas not covered in its language. Since the ban is intended to protect bar employees - and not bar owners - some entrepreneurs have exempted themselves from the ban by making all of their employees part owners.
Since they technically have no employees, owner-operated establishments can apply for exemptions through county agencies.
In Sutter County, there are at least three bars which have obtained such exemptions. They include Yuba City bars such as the Spur, Dowers Tavern and the 21 Club.
No information was available Saturday on whether there were any owner-operated bars in Yuba County.
Mary Benedict, a part owner of the Spur, criticized the ban and said the exemption has helped her clientele stay steady.
"You're supposed to be able to smoke and drink in a bar," Benedict said. "Governments hurt small businesses too much anyway."
Some bar owners in Marysville said exemptions in Yuba City bars have affected their businesses.
George Matsuda, the owner of Daikoku restaurant in Marysville, said fewer customers want to come to the bar in his business.
"The people that like to smoke, they've got to leave and go to a place where they can smoke," Matsuda said.
Bar patrons also criticized the ban. Some called it an infringement on their civil liberties.
Smoking outside Stassi's Fourth Ward on Saturday, Strawberry Valley resident Dennis Travis, 61, said the ban sometimes makes him think of moving to a state where smoking bans aren't in effect.
Travis said public officials are going too far in their attempts to eliminate health risks.
"We're trying too hard to protect people," Travis said.
Marysville resident Carl Supler, 59, said the ban is an affront to veterans who fought in foreign wars in an effort to preserve civil liberties.
"It's just one more of our freedoms taken away," Supler said. "We fought for this country and most of us didn't come back. Now we've got these bleeding hearts telling us what we can and can't do."
I keep wondering when the "victims" in California are going to demand:
a drinking only section in bars due to the distasteful smell of alchohol;
or limitations on music volume to minimize hearing loss;
or state dress codes for those offended by provocative clothing;
or specific lightning requirements for the nightvision impaired;
or space requirements for pool tables to prevent cue jabs;
or designated slow-dancing floors for the terminally spastic;
or, or, or,.....................
You to butts to lawn to house burn down.
Off the meds again?
To: BillyRayR
This article is amazing in it's ignorance. Reasonable protest against our government should be viewed as healthy, not a threat.
We were criticizing it constantly for the last eight years. Should we have shut up and let Clinton and his stooges have free reign?
Those who protest the government are sometimes those who love our nation the most. I learned that during the last eight years.
As for the government backing off gun owners, who the heck came up with that gem? From California to the East Coast gun rights have been and remain under constant attack.
4 posted on 12/02/2001 2:00 PM PST by DoughtyOne
Was this during one of your more lucid moments?
And thats not happening in Ottawa, we haven't been to a restaurant in town since the ban took effect, we were going to take my daughter and son-inlaw out for dinner on Dec 29, as they were leaving early the next morning, they didn't feel like going too far, we went to the Outback, the hostess was sooo not busy, she came and opened the door for us, we were seated right of way, as the place was appr half full, meal came 20-25 minutes after being ordered, now that is kind of nice, but can you imagine the low profits that entails, and to think the Outback used to always be so busy, you were given silent beepers,that was in the old days.
Thats funny, in my town everybody are increasing prices, an attempt to make up for lack of customers.
I am taking responsibility for my actions, in case you haven't noticed, smoking is LEGAL.
I suspect you time at FR may not be long lived, enjoy while you can.
But but, he says he has a high IQ, must admit I haven't seen any evidence of that fact.
Oh well, he gives us a good laugh. :-}
Your warped opinion is not the truth. It is the world according to an insecure little person who craves acceptance because you realize that your lack of self esteem is well deserved.
You do not like it when someone points out the facts of your faults.
Sounds like the story of your life. I would inagine that your mother got sick of hearing, "I am good mommy.....I really am.
Just because you lack self decipline and smoke do not exhale your rubber spine habit on the rest of the intelligent population who do not smoke.
You seem to have a single facet life. You have nothing else to grasp to delude yourself into a feeling of superiority than the fact that you do not smoke. If this is all that you have going for you to "prove" that you are intelligent, then that is pretty sad.
I feel sorry for you. Perhaps the minimum wage will be raised so that you will have something to smile about; that is if indeed you have a job.
Eaker
Yes, this is one half of your original statement that displayed that you are a liar.
I will not hit them with a 2x4!
Because you would get your ass kicked.
Our society is doing the hitting, the smokers have to recognize that THEY STINK!
You are trying to use the nanny state to bring people down to your level. Why don't you butch up and admit that you are not much of a person and seem to have a real fixation on acceptance.
They need to be more flexible and attempt to seek acceptance by being sensitive to others.
Another cry for acceptance. Once again butch up and understand that this is as good as you get. Try to better yourself rather than attempting to pull others down to your level.
Cover your stink with colone and mint.
You seem to have a fixation on stinking. Perhaps if you can afford it you might try smoking......if nothing else it might mask your own stench which appears to be your real concern.
Eaker
You do not have your state flag up. Is that a common practice in the little backwater town that you live in?
And as for the bans in Cali...they are a joke in many places. Yup, we found ways around them. And your higher taxes? Got way aropund those too. So suck that, you government ass kisser.
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