Sunday, August 20, 2006

Uh, no

Sorry, NG, one restaurant claiming a (maybe) loss of 10 percent in receipts since the smoking ban went into effect in Urbana DOES NOT make it a trend.

It makes it a story about one whining person whose revenues are down until the students return. Or until the food and/or service improves. Or perhaps because people just aren't spending right now. Or perhaps you just have a surly bartender who's chasing folks away. Or maybe you raised beer prices. Or maybe your air conditioning hasn't been working all that well. Or...?

Sorry, NG, it ain't a trend. No matter how much you want it to be. Nor how much you're trying to convice us (and you...?) that it is.

Did anyone else notice that the story actually began in paragraph 5?
Four other restaurant and coffee shop owners and managers said they haven't noticed any change in business, other than having more customers going outside to smoke.

Officials have received only one complaint about illegal smoking, and it was determined that it wasn't valid.
To repeat. Four business note no change in revenue, one whines that business is down 10 percent. Which is the trend?

And so it goes.

4 comments:

Anonymous said...

No doubt.

Ever been to Dos Reales on University in Urbana during lunch time? I go there often since I work nearby. Before the smoking ban, there would be people stacked up waiting for tables all throughout lunch--even though the smoking section had seats.

Now that the smoking ban is in effect? Well, there are still just as many if not more people stacked up waiting for tables, but now *every* table is full.

Having been to Margaritas in the past and leaving wholly unimpressed by the food, I submit that their business troubles are of their own making.

Champaign American said...

Smoker/Editor John Foreman is bound and determined to try and find something bad caused by the smoking ban. If the ban was causing a decline in business we'd see it across the board. Instead the story only told me that there was a problem with that particular business, not the smoking ordinance. Also notice how the owner complains about how people used to drink a few beers while waiting for their carry-out orders? Nice to know he was relying on income of people filling up with beer before they took off and drove away with their food. That has DUI and liability written all over it and is hardly a sound business model if you'd ask me.

Ol' Guy said...

Yeah, not to mention the fact that if it takes the time to drink 2 or 3 beers, that must mean that service is really really slow. Slow service like that could be a reason business is off 10 (an estimated) 10 percent.

Champaign American said...

Notice the Champaign City Council is meeting and having a full dinner at Jim Gould’s this evening at 5:30Pm? How much is that going to cost the taxpayers? That is an expensive restaurant.