mpls: Molly Quinn's and the Smoking Ban

The denziens of Mnspeak.com had an interesting discussion about the smoking ban, set off by the news that the relocation of an East Lake landmark, Molly Quinn’s Irish Pub, to an Ethopian restaurant’s ex-haunts, wasn’t going so well. Somehow, the bar owner, ended up blaming the city’s smoking ban for his slow business, despite the fact that:

• 1) his Irish bar is in an Ethopian restaurant
• 2) he has built a designated outdoor smoking patio
• 3) the entire country of Ireland has passed a smoking ban
  

Let me remind you that not only is Ireland the most alcoholic country on the planet, but it’s completely run by the mob. If Ireland can survive a smoking ban, so can the Twin Cities.

If the owner of Molly Quinns (which I happened to like very much at its old location) is looking for someone to blame for his economic woes, might I suggest SuperAmerica? It was their unnecessary expansion plans that led to a classically beautiful Irish pub annexing a classically beautiful Ethopian restaurant. There are plenty of parking lots that SuperAmerica could have turned into a Super SuperAmerica, but they had to choose the one with a local bar on it.

But that debate is ancient history, as will be Molly Quinns in the not-too-distant future. Too bad their Ethopian/Irish hybrid dinn’t take off. Now that Chang O’Hara’s is gone, that leaves Twin Cities Irish fusion in dire straights

More interesting is the never-ending debate on the smoking ban, which the Strib profiled today:

"What I'm here to ask you is to please, stay strong," said [Saint Paul City Councilmember Dave] Thune, who urged leaders of the state's most populous county not to amend its ban, and promised that St. Paul would soon adopt a measure similar to what's on the books in Hennepin County.

Now’s the perfect time to talk about this, because right now smokers throughout Hennepin County are trying to light their cigarettes in fifteen-degree wind.

This bit from the Mnspeak comments speaks volumes:

I've said it on here before that I support the smoking ban. That said, it does suck that places are closing, but I also think that the smoking ban is an easy excuse. IMO, places are closing because they didn't know how to support their business, they kept waiting for the government to come and save them by removing the ban.

Smoking patios are fine for some places, but maybe not for others. So as a business you need to keep thinking about what you can do to bring in more customers. Those that don't will fail, but those that can, will move on.

My $.02 on the subject.

»» Submitted by »»» moe at 8:58 PM on November 14

Bars should always be adapting to their changing neighborhoods and their new clientele. If you’re an African-American bar and all the black folk are leaving your neighborhood, you’re in trouble. The same goes for smokers. Schroeder’s, my neighborhood bar on Front and Maryland, just spent some cash and put some windows in their previously-monolithically-brick wall (see picture above). I’m sure they did this to attract a more interesting and niterested (in the outside world) clientele.

Good for you Schroeder’s. That’s what small, smoky corner bars are gonna have to do if they wanna stay in business. Next stop, Costello’s, where Dave Thune will finally get his way and end years of unnecessary smok-idy smoke-smoke.