Since the smoking ban at Baton Rouge bars and casinos took effect June 1, some Baton Rouge bar owners and workers say it has actually boosted business, while others argue it’s killing sales and pushing patrons to neighboring parishes and unincorporated areas where they can still smoke.
Caleb Baxter, a bartender at Duvic’s on Kalurah Street, says the ban was initially “weird,” with regulars trying out different smoke-friendly bars in surrounding areas. But all of them have since returned over the past month and a half, he says.
“If anything, we have more clients now,” Baxter says, adding the bar’s regular smoking clientele simply steps outside to light up now. Duvic’s is also designing an outdoor patio where smokers can go, he says.
Enforcing the ban hasn’t really been an issue, either, says Baton Rouge Police Department spokesman Sgt. Don Coppola, adding no citations have been issued since the smoking ban went into effect.
However, business at other bars has taken a major hit. Take The Patio Lounge on Jefferson Highway, for example, which has allowed patrons to smoke indoors since it opened 56 years ago, says owner Terry Sweatfield.
Since he and his wife took over the bar seven years ago, Sweatfield says he used to “gladly post” signs telling patrons to enter at their own risk, adding that “smoking and drinking go together.” However, he says he’s now losing customers to smoke-friendly bars in neighboring parishes, such as Fat Cat Saloon in Ascension Parish. Fat Cat Saloon could not be reached for comment as of this morning’s deadline.
“I don’t understand how six people can sit around and tell me what I can and can’t do with my business,” says Sweatfield, who estimates 70% of his customers smoked inside the bar.
Sweatfield says simple math shows the ban’s detrimental effects: Sales are down 26% from last month, while his utility bill is up 32%. Though he has 15 ashtrays outside his bar, he says smokers leave their cigarette butts on the ground. And, with people constantly moving from inside to outside to smoke, he says he can’t keep the place cool enough anymore.
It cost Sweatfield $3,600 to build the makeshift outdoor smoking area he added for patrons, he says, on top of the $550 per day it takes to run the bar. On Monday, he barely broke even.
“Moving hasn’t occurred to me,” he says, “but I might have to shut my doors if this keeps up.”
