Smoking Ban Extras
by ChrisMay 29th, 2005 5:40 pm
Just a few tidbits regarding Michael Nutter’s smoking ban which passed City Council by a 10-7 vote last week.
On Friday I spoke to the owner the bar I go to most often about his feelings on the impending smoking ban. His reaction surprised me a little in that he wasn’t all that concerned about losing business. This was something of a shock because his bar is a classic smoke filled tap room where nearly all of the patrons are chain smoking, beer and shot people. His major concern was dealing with regulating the foot traffic in and out of the bar from patrons going out to smoke on the pavement, as well as the potential for liability from having packs of intoxicated individuals congregating right outside his establishment.
Another tidbit I learned from my conversation, is that a bar that makes less that 30% of its gross from prepared food cannot stay open on Sundays. He has already ruled out trying to squeeze in under the 10% loophole that would allow smoking in his establishment for two years past the January 2006 deadline, as it would prove too costly to shut down on Sundays. What we will see, however, is an interesting revival of some of the long standing, but mostly forgotten, Pennsylvania Blue Laws regarding alcohol consumption and sale. To be more clear, there will be no smoking in any bar in Philadelphia on the Sabbath. Now how weird is that?
