Smoking Ban Links
Archive 4
This page is obsolete. It's only here for archival purposes. All the information
on this page (and much, much more) is available here.
- - -
The list of articles about business severely affected by smoking bans became
so long we had to break it up into several pages.
Archive One (The oldest links)
Archive Two
Archive Three
Bars show smoking ban hurts
Her records show a revenue drop of nearly $57,000, or 28 percent, for the last half of 2005 versus 2004.
"And January was worse. We were down 40 percent, over $18,000 in sales," Roepcke said. "Our
sales had been increasing, but when the smoking ban hit it was devastating. We
were losing 30 to 40 percent a month.
"Our profit margin is gone. I've had to take $40,000 out of my own pocket
since July to cover our losses."
Roepcke said he has cut his staff of 14 employees by half.
"The seven employees we have left have had their hours cut back," Roepcke
said.
"Last month alone we were down 50 percent in Budweiser sales from the year before," Roepcke
said. "If the exemption doesn't pass, I don't know what a lot of the bars are
going to do. Right now, we are borrowing, cutting back and not taking a salary
ourselves just to stay in business."
Smoking ban killing off the iconic Kiwi pub
Seventy of the six hundred and twenty bars surveyed reported profit decreases
of 30% or greater in the first year of the ban when compared to the year previous,
as these hotels are at risk of closure if trade does not lift in this coming
year.
Smoking ban forcing pub to close
A bar which has been thriving for more than 60 years is to close because it will not survive when the smoking ban comes into force, it has emerged.
Sandy Robertson, who has run the bar for the last seven years, says 95% of his customers smoke and it would not be financially viable for him to keep the pub open.
Canada CAW says province should supplement laid-off workers
The Canadian Auto Workers union is asking the Ontario government to supplement the incomes of hospitality workers who are laid off because of the province's smoking ban and to provide retraining for them.
The casino's senior managers have told the union they are predicting at least a 30 per cent drop in business followed by layoffs, Lewenza told Pupatello in a letter.
Bingo halls decry city smoking ban
Edmonton bingo halls and some bars say business has dropped by up to 50 per cent in the six months since the city imposed a no-smoking bylaw in all public places.
Since July 1, when the ban came into place, 19 bingo halls in the city have shut down. While some of the closures are attributed to waning interest in the game, operators say most were adversely affected by the smoking bylaw.
"Last month's pool, with the cold weather, we lost $90,000 for that month," Susan
Moore, who runs Parkway Bingo, said.
Bingo operators say the payout to local charities and clubs has dropped by at least 50 per cent over the past six months, while crowds are down about 25 per cent.
"They've been brutal," Wally Zack, owner of the Borderline Pub, said of the past six months. "Business
dropped immediately by 30 to 40 per cent, and as much as 50 per cent when
it got colder."
Smoking Ban Continues to Hurt Bars
A spokesman for the Coalition to Save Madison Jobs, who is also a bar owner, says regular customers are no longer coming in and virtually no new customers are replacing them.
That in turn means the ban is actually taking money away from the workers it was designed to help.
In fact, payroll at his bar is down $15,000 because of the slow in business.
Hennepin County board considers exemptions to smoke ban
The dining room in American Legion Post 600 in Champlin is large enough to fit more than 200 people. . . But during lunchtime on a recent weekday, only four customers are present.
Legion managers say business is down 25 percent since the smoke ban took effect in Hennepin County. As a result, they've had to layoff one of their 30 employees. Bartender Mary Voss says in her 34 years at this this Post, she's never seen business so bad.
Taxable sales have gone up for establishments in Coon Rapids, which is just across the border into Anoka county.
Tavern Owners: City's Smoking Ban Has Hampered Business
Joe Klinzing, spokesman for the Coalition to Save Madison Jobs, said that regular customers are no longer coming in and virtually no new customers are replacing them.
Klinzing said that he blames the smoking ban.
He said that because of slower business, payroll at his bar is down $17,000. He said that that means the regulation is actually taking money from the same workers the ban was designed to help.
Smoking ban clears the air and bar stools
How's that smoking ban going? I asked.
"Right now," Wilson said, looking around the 19th Century room with its carved cherubs, tin ceiling and massive oak back bar, "it's just me and two other people in the place."
Pubs 'hit hard' by smoking ban
Local bars are rubbishing statistics suggesting their revenue has not been affected by the one-year-old smoking ban.
"I know of bars that are down by as much as 50 per cent," he said.
"I would suggest there has been at least 20 per cent across the board."
O'Malley's Irish Bar in Rotorua has also been feeling the effects of the legislation. Owner Terry Meagher said the bar's revenue had been down by about 20 per cent and many other bar owners were experiencing the same thing.
Some clubs claim to have lost about $150,000.
Smoking ban could put hookah lounges out of business
Coping with the smoking ban
"My bar business after 9 p.m. dropped $200,000 a year. Not only did it drop, it dropped overnight," said Steve Goumas, owner of Rúla Búla on Mill Avenue. He said revenue is only now returning to the levels before May 2002.
Bar owners and musicians maintain the ban has had a profound impact on venues featuring local musicians.
"It killed the music scene in Tempe," Goumas said.
Longtime local musician and non-smoker Walt Richardson has called Tempe home since 1974. The folk and reggae performer hosts weekly open-mike nights in Mill Avenue venues.
"There was definitely a night-and-day difference," Richardson said. "(The ban) affected how many people would come out to the shows. People were afraid they could get arrested, in terms of the way the laws read on the smoking ban."
How many jobs lost due to smoking ban?
"We have over 2,500 jobs lost already," says Sue Jeffers. "Over a million dollars in lost revenues every month."
Jeffers, who says she opposes any smoking ban, says the ordinance has led to the closing of at least 40 bars. And she says it's hurting related businesses, like her beer distributor.
"They have already eliminated one entire route," says Jeffers. "Which is a lot of jobs, because their business was down 16 percent. It all just adds up over and over and over again."
Matthew Lamphear is the former owner of Molly Quinn's in Minneapolis. He says the smoking ban is the main reason he went out of business. Lamphear says in fact, trouble began for him the first day the law went into effect.
"I immediately had a 25 percent drop in customers," says Lamphear.
Lamphear says his best customers, his smoking customers, took their business elsewhere. After three months, he began laying people off and closing his doors earlier.
Lamphear says eventually he had to close for good after he couldn't afford to pay his bills, and vendors stopped delivering food and beer. His 27 employees had to find work elsewhere. Some, Lamphear says, are having trouble finding new jobs.
As for Lamphear, he says he's developed a heart condition and is facing a debt of about $250,000.
Hennepin / Ramsey Hospitality closings since smoking ban implementation
55 bars and several restaurants in Minneapolis have closed since the smoking ban was implemented. 1400 jobs have already been lost in the hospitality industry. At 227 days into the smoking ban this equals one bar/restaurant closing every 4 days.
Smoking ban affecting businesses both good and bad
The bingo parlor used to make up to $40,000 a month but now it's in the red, Gibbens said. He said it's hurting the organization's disabled clients, who no longer get money for taxi rides.
Total smoking ban 'in 10 years'
This is why compromise with these tyrants should never be considered. They don't view compromise as a solution, just a temporary step to eventually getting their way.
Time to ban porch smoking says Galway health officer
This nicotine nazi wants to go after the smokers he's driven outside into the weather.
Smoking ban killed bar: owner
Rumours night club shut down last week after serving customers for nearly 26 years.
Before the ban, Lethbridge says he employed eight people each Friday night. After the ban, Lethbridge dropped the number to three. "Last Friday night, we had two staff," he said.
The provincial Alliance for the Control of Tobacco says it regrets the layoffs, but executive director Kevin Coady says the health of people – not businesses – is its top priority. "In no way is it our intention to hurt people – this is all about protecting people."
He protected them right out of their jobs, and into the unemployment line.
Bar owners allege smoking ban causes financial harm
The court heard testimony from bar owners who claimed their revenues dropped by at least 20 percent one month after the ban went into effect. Also several bartenders and waitresses testified that their tips have fallen by 50 percent.
Injunction Attempt To Stop Smoking Ban
"My clients since the smoking ban went into effect on September 1, many of them are losing up to half of their income, and this is not only bar owners but also bartenders, people who rely on this for their livelihood," attorney representing bar owners Mark Levin said.
Smoking Ban and Convention Business
Madison's smoking ban is pushing at least one convention away. The Tavern League of Wisconsin says from now on it won't hold future meetings in cities that ban smoking, including Madison and Appleton.
About 600 people are attending the Tavern League four day convention in Appleton this week.
Bucking the Ban
For eight years, Dale Beck has been relying on blue–collar workers to fill his bar in this industrial neighborhood on the northeast side of Madison.
But since the smoking ban took effect, Beck says he's lost more than half his business.
Local Restaurant Closes, Owner Blames Smoking Ban
Diamond Dave's is officially out of business, and Frazier says the reason is simple. "The economic sanctions placed on us by the smoking ban by the Wausau City Council caused a dramatic decrease in sales, and we were no longer able to do business here," Frazier says.
Minneapolis Bars Blame Smoking Ban For Closings
Porter's Bar & Grill on Nicollet Avenue in South Minneapolis is one establishment that said it's closing its doors for good. It's been in business since 1938.
Thirty-five bars have gone out of business in Minneapolis since the ban went into effect. On average, that amounts to about one every eleven days. {Emphases added}
"March 31 of this year, when the smoking ban went into effect, we lost about 30 percent of our customer base," said Matthew Lamphear, owner of Molly Quinn's Irish Pub.
Lamphear told almost all of his staff this is their last weekend.
Bucking the Ban
But since the smoking ban took effect, Beck says he's lost more than half his business.
Smoking Ban Kills Bingo in Minnesota
South Town Bingo, located in Bloomington, Minnesota, closed down two weeks ago, after income began to decrease dramatically after smoking was banned from the town's bars. Many players ceased visiting the bingo hall, and chose instead to drive to other neighboring towns without bans.
Smoking Ban to Cut Gambling Revenue: Report
Ontario's province wide smoking ban could cost the government's coffers up to 250 million dollars in gambling revenue a year.
A report for the Ontario Lottery and Gaming Corporation warns the early impact of smoking bans could knock gaming revenue down by 20 per cent.
A government memo adds the agency has already lost 131 million dollars because of municipal smoking bans.
'Thirsty Dog' to close; ban on smoking cited
The area's only on-site beer-making establishment, Thirsty Dog Grille and Brewery, will close today at midnight.
A steep drop in business the past several months was cited Friday night by the restaurant's general manager, Bill Burns, a direct result of the city's smoking ban that went into effect April 4, he said.
The Thirsty Dog payroll included about 40 employees until recent weeks.
Smoking Ban Damages Bingo Profits in Edmonton
Last year's bingo proceeds at the Association of Evergreen Youth in the Canadian city of Edmonton, Alberta, reached $91,000. However, the non-profit organization's bingo profits this year have only reached slightly over $30,000.
In addition, the ban has apparently helped neighboring towns profit – bingo halls in Spruce Grove and Wetaskiwin, which do not have a smoking ban in effect, seem to be smokier than ever and, have in fact reported up to 40 percent increases in profits.
Downtown bars report suffering from smoking ban despite student clientele
"My business has been down at least 30 percent," said Dave Wiganowsky, owner of Wiggie's, 1901 Aberg Ave. "By implementing this ban, the city has kicked the spokes out of my wheel that I had spinning very nicely for 25 years."
Charities: Smoking Ban Affects Charitable Gambling
In looking at pull tab and other charitable gambling activities for April and May in Hennepin County, sales are down 20 percent," Wilson said.
Appleton Bar for Sale, Owner Blames Smoking Ban
"It's extremely sad to see someone who has put their heart and soul into this business for so long. It's her dream and now it's gone," Johnson said.
VFW Post Blames Low Business On Smoking Ban
The VFW Post 425 in Hopkins, Minn. has seen a 20 percent decline at the bar in recent months.
"And you're telling me a 91-year-old vet of World War II shouldn't be able to smoke a cigar at his own post?" asked VFW bartender Carolyn Dreeszen. "That's ridiculous."
Bar owners say no-smoking ban is choking them
It is about health, but for bartender Lucy Cuccia it's also about paying the bills.
Like a lot of service people, Cuccia makes money mostly on tips.
No customers, no tips.
No tips, no rent money.
"I'm down at least a third," said Cuccia, who works at Tail Gators, near the corner of East Washington and Stoughton Road, and at the Locker Room, located in the parking lot of Oscar Mayer's. Cuccia's boss at the two bars, Dale Beck, has already laid off six night bartenders and the day cook, after seeing his business plunge 60 percent.
Joe Klinzing, who owns South Towne Lounge, showed me figures indicating
his sales are down 33 percent compared to July 2004. That's bad for Klinzing,
and bad for his bartender, Stephanie Hall.
"They wanted to look out
for my health," she said. "I wonder if they'll pay my rent?"
It's also bad for the beer saleswoman who stopped by while I talked to Klinzing. He told her he couldn't reorder. She didn't want to give me her full name but said she's been to some Madison bars that haven't ordered liquor or beer since mid-June.
No beer, no commission for her.
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