Anthony Thomas wrote:
Interesting anecdote....but how do you honestly expect to refute the stone cold
facts that it was the smoking ban which forced Cafe Di Napoli and the Olive
Garden to close shop in downtown Mpls?
I can't believe those two spots are included with a straight face. You can
couch it by saying they were closed in that timeframe but they dont seem to be
related at all.
I'm against the ban, but if that list of 40 restaurants is what people are
pointing to as restaurants that have closed since the ban, that's irresponsible.
Ken Bradley writes:
In a previous life (1980's) I worked in the restaurant industry in downtown
Mpls and only two of the seven establishments I worked at are still open. All
of these restaurants closed many, many years ago, so we can't blame the smoking
ban for them going out of business.
I know for a fact that Minneapolis has significantly more restaurants open in
2005 then it did in the 1980's, so it would seem that competition has a bigger
impact then anything. But we still have more restaurants, and better
restaurants, so the industry is not hurting.
New restaurants fail at a rate as high as 90%. I have a friend that workings in
the banking industry specifically with smaller size businesses. He has told me
that restaurant loans face the greatest scutiny, and have the highest rejection
from his bank because of the high failure rate.
I have suffer from asthma (former-smoker, I am as well to blame) and in recent
years have really disliked even going out to bars in our city. Since the
smoking ban I go out much more, and do not turn down invitations from friends
like in the past. My clothing also spells much better when I come home.
Ken Bradley
Kenny Neighborhood
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