WMBFNews.com | Myrtle Beach/Florence, SC | News, Weather, SportsSC bars benefit from smoking ban

SC bars benefit from smoking ban

By Matt Moore - email

LITTLE RIVER - The North Carolina smoking ban took effect Jan. 2, but business on the South Carolina side of the border are seeing some extra customers.

Just 100 yards south of North Carolina, Jimmagan's Sports Bar and Grill has seen more business the two days following the ban than it had in a week. People are trickling down to Jimmagan's, looking for a bar where they can smoke.

"They didn't act like they're mad about it," Jimmagan's bartender Amber Doyle said. "I'm sure it's aggravating to have to go stand outside in the 20 degree weather, but they've been OK with it. We're not that far from North Carolina, so it's going to benefit us."

Doyle said she didn't know how long the new customers would keep coming back, but hopes they enjoy their first visit and are convinced it's more than a bar they can simply go to smoke.

Jimmagan's regulars say a ban at the establishment wouldn't be all that bad.

"I can tell you right now, I know several dozen people that would come here on a regular basis if there was a no smoking section or if there was no smoking allowed," said Jim Glemming, a North Carolina resident that watches football at Jimmagan's every Sunday.

But, after two days, this South Carolina bar is reaping the benefits.

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