Monday, September 07 2009
by Sue Gleiter, Of
The Patriot-News
A year after it was implemented, the statewide smoking ban is receiving mixed reviews from bar and restaurant owners.
At Theo's Bar & Grille in Lower Allen Township, owner Ted Kalathas said he lost some of his regular bar clientele. "My bar crowd was tremendous. At the same time, what can I do? The people out for happy hour who want to light a cigarette are going to go somewhere else," he said.
On the flip side, food sales at the FireHouse Restaurant & Bar in Harrisburg rose 10 percent and alcohol sales remained steady in the past year since the ban was enacted, said owner Donny Brown. "For us, everything is better. We used to allow smoking at the bar but the diners were so sensitive to it. Now that there is no smoking, we have more patrons," he said.
A year later, smoking ban gets mixed reviews from restaurant owners continues at pennlive.com...
