Hasn't anyone considered that restaurants, and bars may be closing due to the gigantic drop in patronage following the March 31st implementation of the Minneapolis and Hennepin County smoking bans? Since the ban(s) took effect, 40 bars and several (don't have the exact number) restaurants in Minneapolis have closed. My favorite pub (Molly Quinn's) is probably closing in a couple weeks. The owner has already laid off all staff, and cut back to 7 hours a day. Many owners have tried to combat the drop in business with nice new patios, but are finding that that only slightly mitigates the losses. Now that winter is upon us, we are likely to see another surge of closings. 1400 jobs have already been lost in the hospitality industry, and that doesn't even account for the cuts in hours for those hospitality employees who have managed to keep their jobs.
I've been watching this discussion for a while now, wondering if anyone would draw a link to the smoking ban. To my chagrin, listers seem to prefer not to consider that possibility, and instead turn to ideas about local ownership, chain vs. small small business operation, et-c, ignoring the obvious. Chain operations are more likely to be able to weather the storm, as they can afford losses until the smaller competitors have been killed off. Once the number of bars and resturants has been sufficiently decimated, the big boys who held on will probably begin turning profits again. Who benefits from a smoking ban in Minneapolis? Large, rich corporations: Chain operators from out of state; Giant pharmaceutical companies (whose addictive products cost twice what tobacco does).. Who suffers under it? Small, local business owners, working stiffs in the hospitality industry (ironically, the very people the bans are ostensibly in place to protect), and everyone who has the guts to make their own decisions. The price of progress, right? My own elected city representative has been heard to say, "bowlers and smokers are expendable" Seems to be a common attitude among the "progressive" elite. Dan McGrath Longfellow http://www.shegstad.us REMINDERS: 1. Be civil! Please read the NEW RULES at http://www.e-democracy.org/rules. If you think a member is in violation, contact the list manager at [EMAIL PROTECTED] before continuing it on the list. 2. Don't feed the troll! Ignore obvious flame-bait. For state and national discussions see: http://e-democracy.org/discuss.html For external forums, see: http://e-democracy.org/mninteract ________________________________ Minneapolis Issues Forum - A Civil City-focused Civic Discussion - Mn E-Democracy Post messages to: mailto:mpls@mnforum.org Subscribe, Un-subscribe, etc. at: http://e-democracy.org/mpls
