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Months into smoking ban, area businesses weigh impact
Jump to full article: Brainerd (MN) Daily Dispatch, 2008-04-29
Author: MATT ERICKSON Staff Writer
Intro: While few, if any, establishments have been driven out of business by the ban, its effect is still noted - even if it wasn't what was expected.
At the Iron Rail Saloon in downtown Brainerd, manager Brandon Soderlund said downtown Brainerd bars braced for the worst after the ban went into effect.
The first month of the ban proved those initial fears to be true as sales dropped. After that, however, things picked back up, he said, because customers didn't want to stay at home to have a cigarette and a drink.
. . .
Soderlund noted some smokers also have seen the benefit.
"Some have started to come around and they'll say one of two things - that it helped them cut down on smoking quite a bit or that it's nice to not have to go home and throw their clothes in the washing machine right away," he said.
"Overall, it's been a little bit of an inconvenience to a few people but they deal with it and for the most part it's been positive. We can't make everyone happy, anyway."
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