Saturday, October 06, 2007
MN Bar Owners See Drop In Business
Due To Jackbooted No-Smoking Nazis
So...I bet those bars, nightclubs and restaurants are just flooded with those big-spending, high-rolling non-smokers who couldn't wait to finally be able to go to a bar, tavern or restaurant and breath clean, fresh air.
Um - not so much...why, the St. Paul Pioneer Press ran a story in today's paper that smokers who no longer can light up in Minnesota are taking their business to Wisconsin. I bet the no-smoking Nazis never even considered this might happen, but hey, they'll more than make up for the loss of business because now the non-smoking Nazis can hit the town, hit the bars, hit the nightclubs and party like it's 1999 while breathing the clean, fresh, non-smoke-filled air - right? Um - not so much.
If the URL to the above St. Paul PP story ends up requiring a free registration, search TwinCities.com for the story titled: Still want a smoke and beer? There's Wisconsin - for now; by John Brewer:
[...a] few days into the ban, which took effect Monday, there hasn't been a rush of cigarette-wielding Minnesotans over the river. But some [Wisconsin] tavern workers have noticed a few strange faces mixed in with their regulars.
Erin Kenney, a bartender at Pudge's, said she's seen from six to 12 new customers a day during daytime hours. "It might not sound like much, but during the day that can make a big difference," she said. "Two guys came from West St. Paul just so they could smoke. I have some new regulars now, I think."
Bartender Neil Phillips, of Dibbo's in Hudson, said the ban has been a boon. "Starting Monday, we doubled our business," he said. "About 25 percent of the new people came back Tuesday night and the next night."
He said the new law could bring back the good old days when Minnesota bars closed at 1 a.m. and drinkers rushed across the border to make Wisconsin's 2 a.m. closing.
"Obviously, it's a good thing," he said.
[...]
At the Border Bar & Grill in Taylors Falls - just across from St. Croix Falls - a bartender said she's already noticed an impact. Her usual morning duties have included taking out a couple of 30-gallon trash bags that sag with beer bottles. On Wednesday morning, there were only a dozen bottles . [Why, where are all the non-smokers in Taylors Falls? Why aren't they at the Border Bar & Grill, breathing in the fresh, clean air? - Drake]
[...]
But Wisconsin might be a smoker's haven only for a short time. Senate Bill 150, which would ban indoor smoking across the state, is in the Committee on Public Health, Senior Issues, Long Term Care and Privacy with a vote set for Oct. 17.
The Tavern League of Wisconsin has vowed to fight the legislation and plans to take up the issue next week at its fall conference in Stevens Point.
Here is a link to the Tavern League of Wisconsin's effort to fight and defeat the anti-smoking cretinous Nazis in Wisconsin. We couldn't stop them in Minnesota, maybe we can stop them in Wisconsin and the other border states of Iowa and the Dakotas.
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