CARBONDALE – About six weeks after it went into effect, many local bar owners say the statewide smoking ban is burning their bottom line.

The ban was touted as means of protecting employees from second-hand smoke and attracting business from non-smokers. But throughout the region, bar owners say the ban has kept smokers away and non-smokers have not filled the void.

“Hopefully we are going to get a new generation of nonsmoking alcoholics; it’s all I can hope for,” joked Ely Lane, night manager at PK’s bar in Carbondale. “We are in a pretty bad situation here. It (business) is down about 30 percent. We don’t own the property so we can’t erect a second area like a smoking gazebo. We don’t know what we are going to do so we are hunkering down and hoping for better times.”

At the Perfect Shot in Herrin, part-owner Traci Drew said business during the week has been cut in half; the bar is offering more drink deals to boost business.

At The Cellar in Carbondale, owner Paul Stokes said business is down about 20 percent so far this year. At Mugsy McGuire’s, owner Matt Maier said last January was the worst he’s had in 10 years.

Da-Nite Bar in Murphysboro is reporting similar returns so far, said Manager Julie Crabtree.

“We had folks that used to come in at 3 and stay until six. Now they come in and stay for an hour,” she said. “Some of our regulars are just not coming in at all. I’d have to say I’ve lost at least 15 of my regulars.”

Crabtree added: “It’s cut down on business; it’s also fewer tips for the staff and less money coming in for the owner.”

At Pinch Penny Pub in Carbondale, General Manager James Karayiannis said the ban has
“affected business for the negative” and agreed with Lane at PK’s that non-smokers have not replaced smokers.

“There are some shifts, say Friday afternoon, when we see some new faces; but the week as a whole, there are more people staying home and no one replacing them,” he said. “Certain behaviors go with other behaviors and I think the person who wants to go to a bar during the week was more likely to tolerate smoke.”

Source: SouthernIllinoisan.com. Link

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