So I'll admit I missed the bus here. I've been busy with my house, the beers....life...and while I slept the state of Pennsylvania enacted the Clean Indoor Air Act. As part of this act, any bar that creates more than 20% of their revenue from food, will not be allowed to permit smoking after 9/11. There are all sorts of odd exemptions and loopholes...so chime in. Personally I'm not a smoker, but I also see how this can adversely affect bar owner's bottom line. Opinions? What will our local bars be doing after 9/11?
If any of our local owners want to jump in, I'd be happy to announce what plans you have for the ban.
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I asked a bar owner about the ban a few weeks ago. His reply, "Yeah, my accountant is working on my books about that 20% thing".
ReplyDeleteBased on my purely un-scientific method of looking at what I typically spend on food and beer on a Friday night out...every place I go, the food is WAY more than 20% of my tab. I'll be very curious to see what the rules are and what the loopholes are.
ReplyDeleteI'm out on the left coast having moved from NEPA. I smoke a cig once in a while and do enjoy the smoke free bars out here. I really do not miss the smell of my clothes the next morning after a night in the bars. You guys will see that it is a good thing for everybody. It's not that big of a deal to put a coaster over your beer an go outside for a smoke.
ReplyDeleteSmoke Free at Zeno's since June 1st.
ReplyDeleteIT.......IS........AWESOME......
lost a few customers, gained a few....but I don't work inside a car muffler anymore...
Dave - 24 years at Zeno's
Glad to hear it. Maybe I'm naieve, but it's my opinion that if this is statewide and there aren't any better smoking bars, won't smokers continue to frequent the bars they love and simply smoke outside? Would you as a smoker really drop a bar you loved?
ReplyDeleteGood news for Zeno's...glad it's working out there. If anyone has any contacts at Zeno's, maybe we can get them on mybeerbuzz.com...
ReplyDeleteThe loopholes/exemptions are what truly made this deal bad for the bars who may have benefitted from going non-smoking.
ReplyDeleteAt the Tally-Ho, ALL of the neighboring bars that aren't smoke-free already are EXEMPT. This would put us at a competitive disadvantage if we were to ban it, so we're reluctantly smoker friendly, for now.
Luckily our 20 foot ceilings and adequate ventiliation system minimizes second hand smoke. (Yes, there's no safe level of second hand smoke, understood) That being said, until the loopholes are addressed, this "watered down legislation" really won't have a huge impact on the bar scene.
The only incentive PA offers bars bordering on 20% food sales is that minors under 18 are strictly forbidden inside the premeses that allow smoking. But then again, we're dealing with bars doing in the neighobrhood of 20% food sales, so the impact of 10-20 less tables a week with minors eating dinner is negligible in the grand scheme of things.
Dave is the manager at Zeno's in State College, which is absolutely one of the top tier beer bars in the state. He obviously reads mybeerbuzz, so maybe he'll respond. If not, I'll track him down for you.
ReplyDeleteSo Scott...they are all less than 20% food around you?
ReplyDeleteThanks Sam...Dave & I are trading e-Mail...
I can't sign in ...
ReplyDeleteTrudy here from .. B.F. J'Eat .. non smoking public house.
I think it is wrong.
License venues for smoking as they do for liquor and food.
If it is so bad ...
Then stop the manufacture and sale of tobacco products.
This is feel good politics.
An unfunded edict to be policed by who?
If it is important ... fund it. This would come from the licensing fees.
I suggest .25 (cents) per sq ft per year.
This should INCLUDE casino properties.
The business owner would then be able to decide. Perhaps by polling customers.