Venues: Too early to rate smoking ban impact

It's Tuesday night and the Red Sox have just finished off the Seattle Mariners in an arduous 3-hour, 50-minute game. Wendy McConnell is a little annoyed with having to comply with the new statewide ban on smoking in workplaces, constantly bouncing between the bar and outside the doors of Carlin's Restaurant in Ayer.

But McConnell is looking on the bright side: The ban is forcing her to smoke fewer cigarettes.

''It's nice to sit down and smoke and have your drink," she said. ''But in the long run, it's better for me. I don't smoke as much."

While patrons like McConnell are coping reluctantly with the new law, Carlin's manager Philip Berry has a more stinging complaint. The ban, which took effect July 5, is seriously cutting into his bar's business, he said. Berry said he is seeing an exodus of formerly loyal patrons to venues such as the American Legion, the local Elks club, and other private clubs that are exempt from the ban.

Legislators touted the new law as a means of breaking down the inequities between local regulations that varied, in some cases drastically, from town to town. Berry argues that the new ban doesn't really achieve that purpose, because it gives the upper hand to private clubs.

''The state was saying it's going to be a level playing field, but they left a loophole,"' Berry said.

State Senator Susan Fargo, a Lincoln Democrat who sponsored the legislation, said the intent of the ban is to protect citizens in ''public settings," not private venues. She added that those clubs can still allow smoking for their members, but smoking is prohibited when they open their doors to the public.

''If private clubs are opening themselves up to people who are not part of the club, then they should not be doing that," she said.

While many share Berry's fears, other bar owners in the region say they need more time to figure out how the ban is affecting business.

Carl Slez, owner of Ye Beef 'N' Ale restaurant in Westford, said his patrons have so far been gracious about stepping out the back door for a smoke and the transition has gone smoothly. Business has been slow, but that's expected during July, when many people leave town, he said. ''I think it's a little easier because it's statewide," he said. ''It's hard to nail down [the impact] because it's always slow this time of year."

But Slez said he shares Berry's sentiments that business will be slow because of the law's exemptions for private clubs. His own experience shows how business can shift when the law changes. Earlier this year, neighboring Littleton went smoke-free in standalone bars and restaurants. ''When Littleton went no smoking, my business picked up immediately because I had smoking here," he said.

Though also fretting about loss of business to local private clubs, Lisa Coffin, general manager of Bacci's Restaurant & Sports Bar in Tewksbury, said it's still hard to tell whether the slow pace of business is linked to the ban.

It's not as bad as it would have been if the ban had involved Tewksbury alone, Coffin said. ''But, in general, it is an inconvenience" for patrons.

Like many restaurants, Bacci's had invested in expensive ventilation systems to prevent smoke from leaking into their dining areas. ''It's kind of a waste now because the whole place has to be smoke-free now," Coffin said.

Marcel Girard, manager of the Holiday Inn in Boxborough, said the changeover to the ban from Boxborough's less restrictive regulations has been uneventful. ''We were already fairly conservative with our own [private] smoking policy," he said. ''I don't think it's made a big, big difference."

At Carlin's, however, the number of patrons have been dwindling lately, said McConnell. She used to live in Somerville, where bars went smoke-free last summer. The ban seems to have had a bigger effect in the suburbs, she said.

''I've definitely seen a cutback here, and people not coming to bars and such more than when I was living in Somerville," she said.

McConnell's friend, Erin Reilly, said some of her friends are opting to stay at home instead of heading out to local bars.

''It's infuriating that you can always go where you normally go and not exercise your rights," she said. ''It's going to be annoying in the winter."