Clearing The Air

Thursday, December 13, 2007

Minnesota bars and restaurants outside the metro area are already starting to experience revenue decline thanks to the statewide smoking ban

Minnesota's statewide ban went into effect 10/1/2007, but already the losses are mounting.

The fact that we in MN have to get this news from a Wisconsin paper is very telling.......MN media is unwilling to report the truth about the ban's damaging effects on our businesses, jobs and local economy.

Some excerpts:

Winona, Minn. — Winona bars are reporting a steep decline in business a month after a statewide smoking ban went into effect.

At the 500 Club, bartender Becky Brinkmeyer has noticed some regulars aren’t staying as long. Others aren’t coming in at all. “People used to come in here because they can’t smoke in their car or home,” Brinkmeyer said. “Now they can’t smoke here.”

Bar owners throughout the state are reporting a drop in business as a result of the smoking ban, and with winter coming, they fear it could get worse. Liquor stores seem to be enjoying some benefits...

The Winona American Legion has seen a similar decrease in sales, and not just alcohol. Bartender Barb Schewe says pull-tab charitable gambling sales are way down.

Smokers staying home?

The smoking ban may be a boon for liquor stores.

Third Street Liquor owner Ken Siebenaler said he’s seen a slight increase in sales but it’s too early to tell if it’s because more people are drinking at home rather than the bars.

Kato Liquor manager Aimee Larson said her store has also seen a slight increase. “I think we’ll see more of an increase as it gets colder,” she said.

The real test to for Winona bars will come in about six months, said Tom Overland, owner of The Bar and the Mankato Bar. He said both businesses have experienced about a 20 to 30 percent loss.

When city and county smoking bans closed down 138+ establishments in the Twin Cities area, the Nicoderm /RWJF funded activists at Non-Smoker' Rights, American Lung Association, American Cancer Society, the AMA, etc. told state lawmakers they needed to "level the playing field". The special interest funded activists claimed that the only reason 138 metro establishments lost business was because the city and county bans forced patrons out state.

So now the Nicoderm funded statewide smoking ban is in place and guess what.......the playing field has been leveled..........all of Minnesota's hospitality establishments across the state now get to equally share in the revenue losses.........good work boneheads.

Minnesota lawmakers were swindled by the cheap talk and lies from the snake oil (Nicoderm) / Johnson & Johnson affiliated Robert Wood Johnson Foundation (RWJF)........sure is nice to see their product sales are on the rise.......what a shock.