Since the University implemented its tobacco-free policy in August, more of Baton Rouge’s public areas have been expected to follow suit. The newest addition to this group is Spanish Moon, one of the city’s popular music venues.
Spanish Moon, located on Highland Road, has gained a reputation for its smoky atmosphere. However, after much consideration, an anti-smoking policy is set to begin tomorrow.
Senior bartender Adam Planche said the policy has been a long time coming. Planche acknowledged a smoking environment’s health risks in comparison to a possibly healthier, smoke-free setting. Another key factor in implementing the policy was a concern for Spanish Moon’s employees.
“A lot of the bartenders are non-smokers,” Planche said. “We just thought the time was right. The non-smokers are obviously very happy about it.”
Despite not receiving many complaints about smoking, Planche looked at the bar’s history as a smoking venue. For any grand-scale performance, Spanish Moon would enact nonsmoking nights to benefit both the artists and the larger crowds.
“We’ve been talking about it for a long time … internally,” Planche said. “It’s time. People kind of knew what they were getting into. It’s no secret — we’re one of the smokiest bars in Baton Rouge.”
As far as other Baton Rouge venues, Planche said he believes that a smoke-free setting is the best environment for a club or bar.
The policy could potentially lead to positive business effects, including better booking potential and attracting a larger crowd of non-smoking customers. Because the policy begins tomorrow, Spanish Moon is currently building a specialized area for customers who want to sneak out for a quick smoke break.
Despite the concern of losing customers, Spanish Moon has no plans for other compensatory offers like more drink specials or longer happy hours. Planche said he hasn’t noticed any negative effects brought on by anti-smoking policies in other venues.
“I don’t really see us doing that much more,” Planche said. “We have great drink specials already. It’s going to just be a non-smoking bar now. It shouldn’t be that big of a change.”
Planche said he predicts no issues for customer reaction — the bar is already receiving some positive responses since announcing the policy. Any offenders caught smoking in the bar or outside of the designated area will simply be asked to leave, he said.
“Hopefully nothing will change, except that you won’t smell like smoke when you leave the bar,” Planche said. “We want to make it a healthier place for the people of Baton Rouge to come and see a show.”
You can reach Gerald Ducote on Twitter @geraldducoteTDR.
Spanish Moon has placed a ban on smoking indoors.
