Illustration by Colin Johnson
After a year of reckoning with the smoking ban, consensus remains elusive among restaurant and pub owners. Some have reaped the benefits, some are struggling to make it work, and others say it evens out.
“Bowlers are happy about not having the smell of smoke in their clothes and hair,” says Pin-Up Bowl kingpin Joe Edwards, “and one remarkable change has been a lot more kids’ birthday parties getting booked there.”
Dave Difani, who owns the South Side’s Black Thorn Pub, figures it’s a wash. “We’re looking at a slight increase on weekends and a slight decrease during the week,” he says. “We’re probably losing the weekday drinker and smoker to other places.”
“To quote Rodney King, ‘Why can’t we all just get along?’” asks Clementines owner Gary Reed, who believes the restrictions on personal choice are as galling as the financial challenge. “Can’t we be considerate of each other without an edict? I still think it should be the choice of the proprietors.”
In just four years, the ordinances will go from causing tremors to temblors—that’s when the full impact of the law takes effect, and smoking will no longer be permitted inside any bar or restaurant in St. Louis, period.
