If there were any worries about freezing to death while standing outside bars to smoke this winter, they can stop. There is at least one place on State Street that, while not a bar, will allow customers to smoke indoors.
Knuckleheads, 550 State St., has always had a smoking-friendly environment, and that policy has not changed, even though the citywide smoking ban has forced Madison bars and restaurants to change their policies. Steve Agee, store manager of Knuckleheads, heard from bar owners that they have lost two-thirds of their business since the smoking ban took effect. His store, however, has not experienced losses.
Agee said it is hard to judge how sales changed this year since the ban started in summer, when the student population dropped. He said the store has seen revenue increases the past few months, but that could be caused by people returning to campus.
Knuckleheads employee Brian Olson, 28, had similar thoughts. The recent smoking ban has not slowed down sales, Olson said. Though the ban did not affect the store directly, it has reinforced Knuckleheads' need among customers. If anything, the ban has drawn more people into the store that just need a place to smoke.
Olson has been working at Knuckleheads for two years, and knew his clientele appreciated the fact that they could smoke tobacco products in the very store where they bought them. First-time customers seem taken aback that smoking is permitted.
\They're surprised you can smoke in here,"" Agee agreed.
Knuckleheads customers complained about the ban, but Agee said it has not influenced them to drop the habit. Olson agreed, saying people will smoke if they want to, whether it is in the bar or outside the bar.
With the cold winter weather approaching, Olson wondered, ""Who wants to stand outside and smoke?""
He thought the imminent cold temperatures would entice State Street bar hoppers to come in the store to smoke instead of standing on the sidewalks outside bars.
