PRINTBan butts out business
Some bars are feeling the drag of nonsmoking
Missourian file photo
Two smokers get their fix outside Columbia Billiards.
July 5, 2007 | 12:00 a.m. CST
The smoke that once filled bars and restaurants in Columbia was pushed out on Jan. 9, and some of it has wafted through the doors of bars just outside town. Smokers have drifted out of local fixtures such as Lou’s Palace, Bull Pen, Columbia Billiards and Rack ‘N’ Roll, all of which have shut down since the ban started. Some believe that smokers are finding new places to light up, either at home or outside of town.
“Nonsmokers don’t go out as much,” says Otto’s Corner owner, Joel Thiel. “They live different lifestyles.” He believes that smokers will go find places where they can smoke and drink.
Even the loyal customers do not come in as much. “A lot of regulars like to smoke,” says Ben Drummond, a bartender at Otto’s Corner. Both Thiel and Drummond say that regulars are around much less than they used to be.
“Business is down 20 percent in the first quarter,” Thiel says. The small bar located on Eighth Street blames the smoking ban for the decrease in business.
But just outside the city limits, bars are feeling mixed effects.
Business is good, but not any better than before the ban, says Karon Rowe, owner of Pepper’s Nightclub and Karaoke Lounge. Her bar is only about half a mile outside the city limits, and Rowe says that many new customers come inside and are surprised to see ashtrays, even though she advertises that fact on the marquee and on the nightclub’s voice mail. Rowe attributes the surprise to many people’s belief that smoking indoors is a thing of the past.
Before the smoking ban went into effect, Rowe had been planning to make Pepper’s a nonsmoking bar because she does not think smoking is healthy. But she has since decided to keep the ashtrays. Rowe thinks the ban is a good thing, and she hopes that it will cause a ripple effect and fewer people, especially children and young adults, will pick up smoking. Even though she continues to allow smoking in her bar, she says that it has not necessarily affected her business.
One possible reason business has not increased much since the ban is that her “budget doesn’t allow advertising.” Because it’s just outside the city limits, people might not realize Pepper’s is free from the ban’s reach.
Lucy’s Beverages and Burgers, located in McBaine, has seen an increase in business since Columbia became smoke free. Dorian Estes, the head cook at Lucy’s, says that business has increased 50 percent. She also says that Lucy’s is seeing more of a younger crowd, which she thinks could be a result of the ban. Another possible reason for the increase in business is that for the past two months the cafe has carried a full liquor line as opposed to just beer.
Both Estes and Rowe share their condolences for those in Columbia having to deal with the ban. “I think it’s ridiculous,” Estes says. “You can come to a bar and drink and drive, but you can’t smoke.”
In Ashland, Hooligans Sports Bar does not report much extra business. “When we have live music, we get a lot of people from Columbia because they know they can stay inside to smoke instead of having to leave,” says Megan Bennett, an employee. This is in contrast with the exodus of concertgoers at The Blue Note between sets.
Perhaps not all of Columbia’s smokers are leaving town to enjoy a beer and a cig, but it does seem to be a growing trend. Small-town bars and restaurants such as Lucy’s generally only see passersby, especially since it is located right off of the Katy Trail. It never hurts for these smaller places to get more business floating in.
