[Speed Gibson,
Saturday April 30, 2005 at 8:49pm]
Smoking Ban Update
It's been about a month since the Hennepin County smoking ban went into effect. As I posted earlier, our ten-year Saturday morning breakfast cafe went dark in just ten days.
I can report that another such independent diner says they haven't seen a difference yet. Another said business is off maybe 20-30% and it looked like it. The radio news this morning quoted an owner that his business is down 25%, partly because even his non-smoking business has gone down.
That's been the national experience of course. There is no pent-up demand for pure non-smoking bars and restaurants among the non-smokers.
Well, we have found a new site for Saturday mornings, in Anoka County. And yes, their business is up. So chalk up several hundred dollars worth of business no longer being done in Hennepin County.
Make the ban state-wide, we'll stay home. I'll cook.
I can report that another such independent diner says they haven't seen a difference yet. Another said business is off maybe 20-30% and it looked like it. The radio news this morning quoted an owner that his business is down 25%, partly because even his non-smoking business has gone down.
That's been the national experience of course. There is no pent-up demand for pure non-smoking bars and restaurants among the non-smokers.
Well, we have found a new site for Saturday mornings, in Anoka County. And yes, their business is up. So chalk up several hundred dollars worth of business no longer being done in Hennepin County.
Make the ban state-wide, we'll stay home. I'll cook.
In fact, a number of new bars and restaurants have opened since the bans began on March 31. The newly smokefree Groveland Tap in St. Paul is hiring waitstaff. Many business are planning to expand.
Let's look at the tax data after a full year of being smokefree and see what the hard numbers say.