“Um, can you go outside with that?” the bartender sheepishly asked as my husband lit up.
We were lounging about in the convivial Science Club, one of my new favorite bars. Or is it a restaurant? That’s the question of the hour – for this legal delineation now controls the thought uppermost in the minds of DC smokers – where can I go?
Though we may think everyone is clued into the ban, apparently not. The owner found out about it on the news the day the ban began. There was some confusion over who exactly is covered under this first phase – the consensus of the happy hour crew was that it depended on whether you had a restaurant license or a bar license. This isn’t immediately apparent to patrons, as some establishments you think are bars that serve food have a restaurant license, while others have a bar license. Think for a moment about your favorite watering holes and see if you can categorize them correctly – sometimes the type of license depends on the zoning. For example, Science Club has a full food menu, a vibrant bar scene, and a restaurant license. Big Hunt also has a full food menu, a vibrant bar scene, and a bar license. Ah well, it won’t matter much by January 2007.
“An era is ending,” the barflies sadly toasted. Despite this wistfulness, all agreed that it would certainly help them quit.
This post appeared in its original form at DC Metblogs
As one of the founding editors of We Love DC, Jenn’s passions are theater and cocktails. After two decades in the city, she’s loved every quirky, mundane, elegant, rude minute of her DC life. A proud advocate for DC’s talented drinks scene, she’s judged the Corcoran Gallery of Art’s ARTINI contest, the DC Rickey Month contest, the Jefferson Hotel’s Quill Cocktail competition, and is a founding member of LUPEC DC. A graduate of Catholic University’s drama program, she toured the country as a member of National Players, and has been both an actor and a costume designer before jumping the aisle to theater criticism. Writing for We Love DC restored her happiness after a life-threatening illness, and she’s grateful to you, dear readers. Send your suggestions to jenn (at) welovedc (dot) com and follow her on Twitter.
