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by BWilliams
on Wed May 02, 2007 7:19 pm |
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http://www.dcist.com/archives/2007/05/02/bars_claims_los.php
It's been five months since D.C. took on a smoking ban in its bars, and all the grousing over not having a place to light up seems to have died down. But news coming from the Restaurant Association Metropolitan Washington may change that.
According to FreeRide, a survey by the restaurant lobby group -- which strongly opposed the smoking ban -- claims that 35 percent of bars and restaurants reported a loss of revenue after the ban took effect. In one case, a bar reported losing 50 percent of its business. An article in the Washington Times in late February highlighted the same trend, quoting bar-owner extraordinaire Joe Englert, whose many establishments were said to have lost up to 40 percent of their business in the first two months after the ban was enacted.
We put in a quick call to the association to get more details, but the most they could offer us was that they had emailed 1,000 bars, restaurants and other establishments, though they didn't say how many had responded, what the average reported loss of business was or if they controlled for any other variables. We've been skeptical of these claims in the past, mostly because few, if any of the other cities or municipalities that have imposed such bans have reported any significant losses in business.
But maybe smokers were right, and the District may buck that trend. The District's ban allows for exceptions for bars and restaurants that prove a loss of 15 percent of gross revenue, though the losses have to be directly linked to the imposition of the ban. According to District officials, the Department of Health is currently accepting applications for exceptions to the ban. |
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BWilliams
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Joined: Jun 05, 2003
Posts: 1081
Location: New York City
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