If restaurants die because of smoking bans, they deserve to. Restaurants are for eating, not smoking; they're for families and socializing, not just for smoking, which harms everyone...except alcohol purveyors.
Andy Driscoll Saint Paul -- on 10/21/05 1:46 PM, Dan wrote: >> As a person who, until last week, has spent almost every Tuesday night > at Molly's for years, I have to tell you that there is a lot more issues > there then just the smoking ban. >> Since Molly's moved to the new site, they've never had smoking in the > restaurant side so the smoking ban probably didn't cause folks to quit > eating there. Also, when two of the owners(Kathy and Matthew) severed their > partnership with the other(Bill), he took a fair number of the regular > customers with him and moved on down the street to the Lake Street Garage. > They seem to have quit booking music in >> that brought the regulars in on weekends. And while I love Molly's, the > service has left a lot to be desired for quite some time and that is not > helping the situation. > > I've been frequenting Molly Quinn's new location since it opened. I mainly > go on the weekends. Before the smoking ban took effect, the place got pretty > busy on the weekends. Now, it's dead. There was a noticible, and immediate > drop in patronage when the ban went into effect. Speaking with Matthew, I've > learned that before the ban, the pub was in the black, although barely, but > business was slowly and steadily on the rise. Then the ban hit, and the debt > quickly began to mount with falling revenues. Until recently, there was > still music, but many performers simply won't play there anymore, when > there's a booming irish pub across the river that allows smoking, and Molly > Quinn's looks like a ghost town. > > The fact that the restaurant side at Molly Quinn's used to be smoke free > should be an indicator to you that the smoking ban wasn't neccessary. There > was a happy balance before. Molly Quinn's made that decision on their own, > and it was working for them, and their patrons. Now, anti-smokers, who want > it ALL have sealed the pub's fate. Do you seriously think that the people > who went to Molly Quinn's to drink are different people than go there to > eat? If the bar side suffers, so does the restaurant side. > > I used to visit Molly Quinn's with a number of my non-smoking friends. We'd > sit in the restaurant side, and when myself, and my smoking friends wanted a > smoke, we'd go sit at the bar together, refresh our beer, smoke, chat, and > return to the larger group. I rarely frequent the pub anymore. My > non-smoking friends don't go there anymore either. > > Molly Quinn's, and many other great neighborhood bars (many of which have > been around for generations) will be gone forever. > > That's the typical result of greed. When you try to have it all, you end up > with nothing. > > > 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 > > 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
