Days numbered to smoke in cigar bars
Posted By: Camila Orti
Cigar bars across the state are preparing for their last round of smoking customers.
One last light, one last puff. That’s what many smokers in Lincoln are hoping to do at Jake’s Cigars and Spirits in downtown Lincoln. Management is telling customers Monday or Tuesday might be the last day people can light up inside, but it’s not by choice.
“It’s a terrible way to start the new year, let me tell you,” General Manager of Jake’s, Jason Hutchison said.
Hutchison says the smoking ban is because of a state mandate that’s finally being processed. A ruling from the state Supreme Court found it unconstitutional for cigar bars to be exempt from Nebraska’s Clean Air Act. Now that that decision has returned to the Lancaster County District Court, part of that ruling has been finalized. On Friday, the Nebraska Liquor Control Commission sent letters out to cigar bars, instructing owners to turn in their specialized licenses for regular ones.
“The minute we get the letter, then I guess it becomes enforceable,” Hutchison said.
Some customers think it’s not just the smoke that’ll go, but the atmosphere that makes Jake’s unique.
“Jake’s is about the only place in Lincoln you can go and sit with your friends and enjoy a cigar or cigarillo, that will be missed,” Troy McCaleb of Lincoln said.
Hutchison said it’ll change some people’s every-day routines.
“Come in here, have a cigar on their lunch break or after work,” Hutchison said, “and it’s being taken away from them and that’s unfortunate.”
But after following the case for months, Hutchison says he’s just glad to have some resolve.
“We’re no longer in limbo because every day it was like, what’s going to happen next, what’s going to happen next,” Hutchison said.
Hutchison says business as Jake’s will continue, even without indoor smoking. A couple state senators have already said they are drafting legislation for this session to return smoking to specialized bars like Jake’s. Indoor smoking will continue to be allowed in private homes and hotel rooms.
