|
Now that Grand Island's smoking ban has been officially approved to take effect on June 1, some Grand Island businesses are gearing up.
"I think it's something we all knew was coming," said Andrew Meier, owner of Bandits at 1016 N. Diers Ave.
He had been considering an outdoor beer garden for about two years but hadn't yet acted on the idea. Now he's formally preparing plans to be reviewed by his landlord, Ray O'Connor.
Meier hopes to construct a 60-by-12-foot beer garden that would be enclosed by a 5- to 6-foot-high fence, an overhang for weather protection and some type of outdoor heating, likely fueled by propane.
Similar plans are under way at Balz Sports Bar, which submitted a plan to the Regional Planning Department last June to modify its building footprint.
"They were anticipating they may want to, may need to expand their building" because of a smoking ban, said Chad Nabity, regional planning director.
That building footprint must be modified if an outdoor beer garden/smoking area is covered with a roof and attached to the building.
"It's part of the building" at that point, Nabity said.
Some local business owners have expressed concern about being unable to create an outdoor space because their business is landlocked.
But even landlocked spaces can have outdoor beer gardens if a little creativity is used. Just ask Lincoln bar owner Doug McLeese.
He has owned O'Rourke's Tavern at 1329 O St. for 27 years.
The downtown neighborhood bar was landlocked and had a second and third story above it.
McLeese's solution when Lincoln's smoking ban went into effect two years ago was to build a new exterior wall inside the existing building tear down the old exterior wall and create an "outdoor" beer garden alongside the newly reconfigured entrance.
He equipped the 30-plus-seat beer garden with a radiant heater. It hangs from the 16-foot-high ceiling and heats the area below to about 60 degrees.
"It heats up objects like the table top," McLeese said.
The outdoor heating system typically runs at least part of each day from September or October through March or April. Beer garden patrons wear coats on cold winter days and go without jackets on warmer days.
The cost of the construction and the added utility bills are "more than made up from increased sales," he said.
McLeese said business dropped off citywide by about 15 percent when Lincoln's smoking ban first went into effect, but it has come back now that people are more used to the ban.
"There are a lot of bars that are doing fine smoke free," he said.
"It depends on the clientele you have."
While the general population may be about 20 percent smokers, McLeese estimated that O'Rourke's downtown neighborhood following had a higher percentage of smokers.
"At any given time, about one-third to one-half (of the clientele) is smoking," he said. "We needed to do (a smoking area) to meet the needs of our clientele."
The most difficult part of the beer garden project was getting city approval on the construction plan, he said. Once that was done, actual construction took just 60 to 90 days.
No immediate changes are planned at Fonner Park, where the Heartland Events Center and Turf Club are already smoke free.
The remaining parts of Fonner Park including its keno area do allow smoking but have costly smoke eaters and ventilation systems that change out the air every eight minutes.
Hugh Miner Jr., vice president and chief executive officer of Fonner Park, said it cost $125,000 just to install that system. He plans to continue using it after the ban is implemented simply because it keeps the air from being stale.
"People will get used to it," Miner said of the ban.
He even wonders if Fonner Park may see an increased number of visitors in the future.
"We've heard a lot from people who say they don't come out because of the smoking," Miner said.
One thing that Grand Island bar owners do seem pleased about is the removal of the 10-foot arc a proposed portion of the ban that would have prohibited smoking within 10 feet of any door.
Brent Lindner, owner of three Grand Island bars including Bonzai Beach Club at 107 N. Walnut St., said the arc rule would have eliminated more than half of the outdoor beer garden behind his establishment.
With the removal of the arc, Lindner's smoking patrons will have full access to the beer garden. He also has about $40,000 worth of smoke eaters and ventilation system that he's not sure about using in the future.
"It's just a business decision," McLeese said of how to accommodate smoking bans.
Want to comment on this article?
Register on our forums and post your thoughts.
It's free and easy to do!
independentforums.com
|
