Bohemia Village Voice  Bohemia Village Voice

For bohemians everywhere

No Smoking a mixed blessing, say local haunts

A21 Cafe

A21 Cafe

Bohemia’s pubs and cafés have been quick to notice the effect of the national smoking ban that came into force on Sunday 1st July. For most, if not all, of us the ban represents the biggest change of eating and drinking culture in our lifetimes, and although the full financial effect – for better or worse – may not be known for a while, there are already signs that for some establishments things may not continue as they were.

A21 Café

Erkan Koksal, the owner of the A21 Café on Bohemia Road, says he’d noticed subtle differences within a couple of days. ‘People haven’t been sitting down so long this week. They have their meal, and where they used to have a second cup of tea and a cigarette, now they don’t stay.’

Dripping Spring

Jason Bingley, who manages the Dripping Spring in Tower Road, is more upbeat about the new era. ‘The punters say they’re all for it, and of course we’ve got a beer garden out the back where people can go and smoke, so it hasn’t affected us at the moment. We’re even putting up gazebos in the garden this weekend, so if it’s raining people can still go out there and have a cigarette.’

Café 67

Sue Norton, the owner of Café 67 in Bohemia Road, agrees that the week after the ban was quieter than usual, though she’s prepared to put that down to the bad weather. ‘Our regulars have still been coming in, and when they want a fag they just go outside,’ says Sue.

Wheatsheaf

Duncan Pollard, manager at the Wheatsheaf, noticed a slight surge in trade. ‘Trade magazines have been saying how, based on the experience of other countries, trade actually goes up in the first couple of weeks as people come in out of curiosity. Most of my customers smoke, and on that first Sunday they were all sitting outside smoking. But they stayed all day.’

Tower Hotel

Not every pub has the benefit of a beer garden, as Shell, barmaid at the Tower Hotel, on the corner of Tower Road, was quick to point out. ‘The customers are quite upset at having their freedom of choice taken away from them. They’re saying “Why can’t there be a mix of smoking and non-smoking pubs, so that people who don’t want to stop have got somewhere to go?” Of course, while the weather’s fine, people can go and stand outside, but what happens when it’s cold or raining?’ Shell is concerned about the effects of the ban on both sides of the bar. ‘We’ve got one old boy who’s been going to pubs for probably fifty years, and he says he won’t be coming anymore because he can’t smoke. And a lot of customers are still lighting up inside out of habit. Then they realise what they’ve done, apologise, and go outside to have their cigarette.

North Star

Pub landlords and staff have all painted a complex picture of the changes resulting from the ban. None more so than Dave Scarth, landlord at the North Star on the corner of Clarence Road and Upper South Road, says he won’t know the full cost to his business, in terms of lost takings, for a number of months. But he’s already noticed a change in atmosphere in more ways than one. ‘One of the biggest things is that you can’t keep conversations going. You might have six people at bar talking, and then a couple of them go out to have a cigarette and the conversation breaks down. So even though being a non-smoker myself my health is better off, it’s not so much fun working here. Also, when people go outside to have a smoke, they’re not drinking.’

Cafe 67

Cafe 67


Tower Hotel

Tower Hotel


Dripping Spring

Dripping Spring


Wheatsheaf

Wheatsheaf


North Star

North Star

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