San Francisco smokers may be an overall minority, but more often than not they're a well represented group on the back patio of El Rio. That space, a grotto behind the queer-leaning bar on Mission Street just south of Chavez, has had a laissez-faire (laisser-fumer?) approach for years, despite a ban on smoking on restaurant patios from 2010 which as SF Appeal noted at the time was meant to include bars with smoking patios "if the bar is located in a mixed-use building." As there's housing above El Rio, well...
Things hadn't been a problem, it seemed, until now. But as El Rio recently wrote to its Facebook page:
"As of Tuesday, December 13th El Rio will be a FULLY NON-SMOKING facility. This is enforced by our landlord and we have no control over it so THANK YOU in advance for helping make this transition a smooth one. Smoking is permitted out front at the curb."
What's next: A cat ban at El Rio? If so, god help us.
Of course, you and I are both thinking of another little bar in a mixed-use building where the patio is a essentially one big, beloved ashtray. It starts with a "Z" and ends with an "eitgeist" and there will be an actual, literal war if someone tries to mess with it.
All this comes at a time when cigarette laws in the city and state are tightening overall. The Board of Supervisors voted in March to raise the the age of tobacco purchase from 18 to 21 and, as California passed Prop 56, packs are now more expensive than ever.
It seems that smokers' days are numbered, and not just by the morbidity of the habit.
Related: Video: Mission Smokers Reveal Thoughts On Proposed Cigarette Tax Increase
