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NEw YORK TAvERN & RESTA ASSOCIATION 25 Elk Street --0- Albany, NY 12207 (518) 436-8121 --e- FAX (518) 436-7287 Everett "Skip" Boise. President Scott Wexler. Executit;e Director For Immediate Release: Contact: Vito A. Turso May 10, 1995 (212) 685-4300 DAY 30: Smoking Ban Hitting the Bottom Line, Say NYC Restaurateurs NEW YORK CTTY -- It's been one month since the city-wide restaurant smoking ban took effect and the New York Tavern & Restaurant Association says a survey it commissioned is proving the point it made over and over during the protracted City Council hearings that led to the ban: • smokers are an important group ot customers to restaurants and bars, and i~'government prevents them from being accommodated, restaurants will lose money. Scott Wexler, the association's executive director, said the survey his group commissioned clearly points to the negative impact the ban is having on business in just the first month. "Our members told us it was happening." he said. "and the survey confirms the bad news. Among those responding, 51 percent thnuqht the city-wide smokinQ ban had been bau ror business, and 41 oercent reported lower arnss receipts " According to Wexier, the survey also shows that, among those reporting lower gross receipts, as compared to the same time last vear: • 83 percent said revenue was down by more than five percent; • 52 percent reported receipts down by greater than 15 percent. Wexler said these figures were particularly distressing because the last several years have been the worst in recent memorv for the restaurant industry. "Now, with the smoking restrictions in • place. this survey is showing gross receipts are down even more." The New York City Restaurant Survey, conducted by the nationally known consulting firm Price Waterhouse LLP between April 28 and May 5, revealed other key findings: • 55 percent oppose the new law, while only one-third (33 percent) favor it, 11 percent had.no opinion, and one percent indicated that they did not know; • 52 percent of those restaurants with bar areas where food is served said more customers have asked to be seated in the bar area so thev can smoke- Based on the findings that show gross receipts off, Wexter said he believes there is another loser -- employees. "It just stands to reason that if declining sales continue, we may be forced to a layoff restaurant staff," he added. ~. Wexler said he and his membership had told council members last year that the smoking CJ restrictions would lead to a loss of revenue, and a subsequent loss in taxes. "Mr. Vallone and ~ Mayor Giuliani said that if we could prove our point after the ban went into effect, they would be zz willing to reconsider the situation. Well, as they say, 'the proof of the pudding is in the eating,' CD and this pudding is giving a lot of people some serious indigestion." ~ O~

Jim Molinari, a third-generation manager of his family's business, New York landmark ' steakhouse Frank's, said he had never had any serious complaints from non-smoking customers before the ban, but had always been able to work out any differences. "Now," he said, "things have been pushed so far that a lot of good-paying customers are being made to feel uncomfortable and unhappy, and it's costing me money." Wexler said he was going to make copies of the findings available to the council and request that it move to reconsider the extent of the present restrictions. "We recognize that we need to accommodate our non-smoking customers." he said. "We're in the hospitality business, and that means every customer is important. There are some modifications we believe can be made that would go a Iong way to meeting this issue in a far more equitable fashion, and we look forward • to working with the Mayor and the entire Council on this matter." The New York Tavern & Restaurant Association is based in Albany, with chapter offices in Manhattan and Staten Island. It represents 5.000 members statewide, including more than 500 members in New York City. A delegation of noted New York Citv restaurant owners is scheduled to speak out next Tuesday, May i6, before the Department of Health when it conducts a public hearing on the smoking ban. Members of the New York Tavern and Restaurant Association are expected to participate in the hearing, set for 10 a.m. in the Department of Health's second floor auditorium at 125 Worth St., Manhattan. 0