I had lunch recently at Kelleher’s Irish Pub. It’s smoke-free now, in compliance with a law that went into effect Jan. 1 in Illinois. In talking with owner Pat Sullivan, he shared that his revenues so far this year are down 12-15%, and he’s concerned. If they continue that way, he may have to start laying some people off. Isn’t it ironic that legislation that was supposed to benefit employees may instead end up costing them their jobs? Who could have seen that coming?
It was just a matter of time before Mr. Sullivan was put out of buisness because of smoking. The day would have come when one of his serving staff, whose potential job loss we are bemoaning, would have sued him, with the joyful help of one of our cities personal injusry attornies, for damages due to some real or imagined disease to themselves or worse yet an unborn infant. I would say Mr. Sullivan is lucky this law passed, now he has one less business risk to deal with.
First, I would harldy put anything Pat says as the Godspell truth. Second, maybe it’s the fact that people aren’t spending money right now. Everything is down right now. Retail, down, Goods and Services, down. Should we blame that on the Illinois Smoking Ban? You have to compare what the economy was like last year at this time to get an accurate assesment of how good or bad business is. Not that people can’t light up in your place anymore.
Scott — Point taken. It is difficult to get an apples-to-apples comparison. Nevertheless, I thought non-smokers would be flocking to the bars and restaurant pubs after the smoking ban went into effect. After all, wasn’t smoke the only thing that kept them away?
Pat should be booking bands every weekend. I’m looking forward to visiting some smoke-free bars to drink good beer and listen to some great tunes.
Pat is the one blowing smoke. He will do anything to get his name in the paper or face on tv. All he does is complain about this or that. If we start hearing all restaurants are laying off people then maybe he has a point but I bet that will not be the case. There is another popluar restaurant on the Peoria RiverFront that has been non-smoking since the day they opened and they are always packed. Pat has a nice place but don’t blame the smoking ban on your business doing bad.
I agree with Scott, I think it’s more the econony than the smoking ban that’s causing the drop in business. While I have problems with the govt. dictating business policy, I am personally grateful for not having to put up with smoking, and, in the long run, it will benefit business, if, for no other reason, it will help some people to quit and they will be healthier and thus contribute more to the economy over a longer period. Again, while I’m sympathetic to the civil rights argument, it is undeniable that non-smokers, as whole, are healthier than smokers. And cigarettes are expensive, so non-smokers also have more money to spend.
Of course the economy is bad. So why compound the problem by creating a disincentive for people to go out and socialize? It’s amazing to me how so many people think that they know more about what’s good for business than the guy who owns the business.
While I think the smoking ban infringes a bit on personal liberty, it has only benefited me. Now I can go bowling!
My brother-in-law pointed something out about the law that may be an unintended consequence. If this ban results in fewer cigarettes purchased, the state will have to find that tax revenue elsewhere. I doubt that business will suffer over the long term (people are remarkably adaptable), but I do worry about how decreased sales of cigarettes will affect the state’s revenue stream, and where lawmakers think that money can be found.
Yes it seems that everyone other than the guy that owns a business knows how good business is or isn’t. I don’t speak for one bar, the Patio Inn, but it is one of my favorite places because of the atmosphere. I am told by an employee there that business is down there. On a Saturday night at 7:30pm, 4 people were in the place. I know for a fact that when we used to go, if we arrived on a Saturday night at 7pm, we were waiting for a table. That to me sounds more than a downturn in the economy. This place was a smoking bar and now it is not. There are 100s of these type of places owned by husband and wife and these places may fail because of the smoking law.
I have also seen this at other places, like the Bingo Hall. I volunteer there twice a month for the Jazz Society and last Thursday they had 35 people. I believe this law is having an effect on business, just how much is yet to be seen.
There was a time just a few months ago that on weekends it was almost impossible to get into Kellehers because it was jammed with people. Are you people seriously telling me that in just 3 months the economy has tanked so badly that the economy is the cause of the downswing in Sullivans or any other bar business? BS. the economy isn’t slowing down business that badly. Places like Texas Roadhouse and Granite City in EP and Chilis are packed out the wazoo.
Chef,
You just made my point. If Texas Roadhouse is packed, (and they have a bar) then obviously, Texas, and Granite City (who also has a bar) are NOT affected by the ban. There are to many other places in this town now, that you can enjoy a beer and have good food. Maybe Kellehers just isn’t that good? And yes, the economy can change that fast. Isn’t that what the media is telling us right now? Must be the truth.
The difference is that establishments like Kelleher’s are more associated with drinking (and thus smoking) than places like Chili’s or Texas Roadhouse. The bar is the center of activity in a place like Kelleher’s.
An initial decline could just be part of an adjustment period or smokers’ revolt. If the smokers do not return, and new nonsmoking patrons do not come, then the mom and pops will suffer. It will take at least a couple months to see how it shakes out.
Kelleher’s isn’t losing my business because I can’t smoke there. (I rather enjoyed spending last Saturday evening there without stinking of cigarettes afterwards.) They’re losing my business because they no longer have Leine’s Honey Weiss on tap and their shuffleboard table is in such bad shape that the game is now as much luck as skill.
….and according to the Journal Star report on restrooms they have one of the worst womens room in town.