Smoking at Jaxx

[Djinn]

Isn't there a backdoor in the lounge area that leads outside? 

And if it was my club this is what I would do: contact property manager and complain about alcohol sales, then ask if it's okay to put up dividers on rock nights (like you see at movie theaters where people form lines) about 4 feet out from the middle eastern restaurant side window, then move the metal detectors/ticketstand to the other side so people have to form lines by the grocery store, and have someone check armbands upon re-entry. 

Seriously, I like jaxx, but what I liked about it is I could get shytfaced and listen to metal, eat greasy food, and smoke... not spend 4 hours cramped up.  I hate to make such a big point out of something like this, but I'm sure your sales will be effected from a change like this. 

[Dave]

I will pass this on to Jay, I can't speak for him but I can tell you why I think most of these won't work unfortunately. The back door to the lounge leads to a small platform with steps down to the ground, it's about 10 feet off the ground and certainly a liability nightmare waiting to happen. As to the lines out front, as it is now they get complaints from all of the surrounding business' about people in front of their stores and I can bet you the landlord could care less about Jaxx' alcohol sales.

I'm not trying to be a naysayer, I no longer smoke (quit 4 1/2 years ago) but I feel that it's a smoker's decision to smoke or not and that if you go to a bar you're going to have to expect smoke, the Government should have stayed out of it or made it voluntary. I can see a non-smoker's side as well but I think if a business makes an effort to appease both that should be good enough (my opinion not Jaxx' of course). A lot of places closed in NY when their smoking ban went into effect but it was a lot less than people expected. And of course it isn't just Jaxx, you can no longer sit in a restaurant and smoke after dinner or with a beer, the way of the World.

[Marie]

First of all, alcohol sales are not affected by whether or not we allow smoking. We are a concert hall, not a traditional bar, where this argument might possibly have more merit.

When asked about our decision not to allow smoking in the lounge bar nor allow people to go outside, this is the standard response I tell everyone:

We actually CAN allow smoking in the lounge bar legally because of the separate ventilation system and set up of the room. However, due to the fact that it is still "open" to the non-smoking lobby area and kitchen, it violates Health Code regulations. Therefore, until a solution can be found that is not cost-prohibitive nor requires extensive construction, there is no longer smoking allowed in the lounge.

The reason we can't allow people to go in and out is because our landlord prohibits "loitering" on the shopping center property. Too many times clumps of people have stood in front of the doors of other shops to smoke, and this has caused problems. Our patrons are usually very good about not doing this, but it only takes one bad experience and it ruins it for everyone else. Discussions with the landlord have not yielded any agreements, so unfortunately, once you're in the club, you're in. We would suggest smoking before coming to the club or switching to the new electronic cigarettes, which do not produce second hand smoke and therefore are allowed anywhere.  Of course, there is always the healthier options of quitting smoking altogether. But we hope you can see that we agree you should be allowed to smoke, but understand we have no way at this point in time to allow you to do so.

[Imasmf]

Wat a minute, jaxxadmin said earlier in the thread smoking was allowed in the lounge part, now you're saying it's not? So Jaxx is totally non-smoking? And we can't go out to smoke and come back in? That sucks and I hate to say it since I only discovered y'all a couple years ago but I doubt I'll be coming there unless its a show I just can't live without. You get Dio or Cooper and I'll show up when their set starts and leave as soon as it's over.

Sorry, like I said I know its not your fault, but I'm 44 years old, I've been smoking  for 31 of those years. I have no desire to quit and if I had ever thought of it all this government regulation has put the thought right out of my mind. I agree with the person who said it's like going to a middle school dance, when they would suspend you if you got caught smoking. We're adults not kiddies in need of scolding & punishment.

I also have to disagree with marie - Jaxx is a bar, it's a bar with some damn good shows but its a bar nonetheless. You say it like thats something to be ashamed of? It's not, a good bar is a great place! Believe me I know, it's been worth driving 2+ hrs for me to come there. But now its like I'm going to drive 2hrs, get there as the band I want to see goes on, watch them for an hour, maybe 90 min, and turn around and drive 2hrs home. Thats just not worth it for most shows ya know. It's ashame I was really looking forward to WASP. I guess next decision for me is if Green Jello is worth the drive, considering Bill hasn't even acknowledged me with a - hey thanks for the Jaxx tip- I'm not feeling it.

Jaxx - Its been great - guess I should have known something would fuck it up!

[Marie]

I feel the need to answer each part of your posting, Imasmf, and I'll do it as best as I can:

After the smoking ban went into effect we did allow people to smoke in the lounge because it does meet part of the requirement for allowing smoking in the building. When jaxxadmin posted that response, that was when we were under the impression we were allowed to permit smoking. Upon a word from the Health Department, it turns out we cannot, as of right now, permit smoking in the club, lounge or elsewhere based on the reasons I gave earlier.

I'm sorry you feel the need to not show up to a show just because smoking is prohibited. As for Dio and/or Cooper coming to Jaxx, if you knew the kinds of venues they typically play at you would realize a show of that size and caliber is not possible at Jaxx.

I understand we're all adults, for the most part, but the comment about us not being children has nothing to do with the club. It's the state law. I'm sorry that the law which was passed by Virginia voters and which took effect on December 1, 2009 does not square with your personal lifestyle. But unfortunately since it IS law, we have to abide by it.

And I respectfully disagree with you. Jaxx is a nightclub with bars in it.  In VA, there are no "bars" according to their liquor licensing laws, only "restaurants" that either do or do not serve alcohol.  A typical bar would be set up like a tavern, where the primary purpose and revenue is from alcohol sales. We are a concert hall, where the primary purpose is to house live concerts, similar to 930 Club, Rams Head, Sonar, etc. As such, I have nothing to be ashamed about with Jaxx's set up. And I'm sorry that you feel the drive is prohibitive for you. I know I tend to feel like it's a chore driving to Recher Theatre in Towson when I live near Quantico, but basically you just have to ask yourself is the band scheduled that night worth your efforts. It may just be me, but I don't tend to base my decision to go to a concert on whether or not I can smoke, what the food is like, or anything else outside of who will be on stage.

If you feel that patroning a nonsmoking environment (in accordance with the laws of the state of VA) is reason enough not to frequent an establishment that you say you enjoy, I'm sorry we won't be seeing you in the future.

[Marie]

FOR TONIGHT'S SHOW ONLY (WASP) WE WILL BE ALLOWING SMOKING IN THE LOUNGE BAR.

[Imasmf]

How can you allow smoking for one night? Isnt that breaking the law???

However I dont care if you break the law and had I known this in time I would have been there.

Marie - your main argument is - it's the law - I agree, if you read my post I said I dont blame Jaxx but the laws suck. I also agree it comes down to whether a band is worth it for me to go. Most won't be. I'm not going to argue that smokings not bad or anything but fact is when a persons been smoking for 31 years its as much a part of them as eating or drinking. Like I said I'm not blaming Jaxx here, it's government bullshit. Smoking is at this point still legal, the government in fact makes a ton of money off the taxes yet they're making laws to the effect of I can only smoke in my own home, and then only if I own it. It's just not right.

There are no bars in Virginia, yeah ok, more government speak. I've been going to bars for many years, in virginia. Ask anyone the best bar in town I bet they give you a name and not "we dont have bars" By law maybe we don't have bars but common people have bars. A rose by any other name is still a rose.

Oh and Dio has played Jaxx before and when I talked with him this past Nov he said he'd like to play there again. When he gets through his treatments I suspect he will be starting back with some small venue dates so I think the possibility is there.

[Renae]

Those people who are going to take a stance against the man and stay out Jaxx due to non-smoking policies are making the proper decision. These are the same people who are just going to stand around and bitch about everything and promote a negative atmosphere. Those of us who go to Jaxx to have a good time and hang out with friends salute you in your quest and for helping keep Jaxx a place we can all enjoy just a little bit more. 

[Marie]

This entire argument is just proof you can't make everyone happy. If you don't like what we do at Jaxx, don't come. I just manage the place. People who own it tell me what rules to enforce and when. If you have a problem, lodge a complaint with the owner.

[Djinn]

How can you allow smoking for one night? Isnt that breaking the law???

  Great points. 

If it hurts their liquor/food/ticket sales, they'll find a way.

In the meantime there's DC unless there's some badass band like Behemoth playing and then I'll suck it up. 

But for a smoker, not being able to leave the establishment is like being treated like you're in middle-school regardless if your clientele mess it up occasionally, you should just hire another bouncer to scoot people if they get in circles and block doors of places, what is that... ten dollars an hour?  My binge drinking will cover that and I'm just one person out of like 15-20 people/night you'd get more money out of from being able to smoke.  This really shouldn't be as complicated as it's being made and because it was allowed one night I'm guessing it was a test to see how it effected sales.  But regardless of how it pans out, best of luck and you still have a cool club. 

[Marie]

It was NOT a test for sales. It was close to a sold out show. With that many people in the building it can get extremely chaotic, and prohibitively time consuming, for me to explain to everyone who asks 15 different ways hoping to get a different answer why we cannot allow them to go outside.

As for DC, you can't smoke there either. Actually, they went smoke free before we did.

Also, your suggestion to hire a bouncer specifically to babysit smokers doesn't alleviate the problem that the landlord wants NOBODY to be hanging outside on the sidewalks or parking lots. It's difficult enough when we have lines just waiting to get in.

As for being treated like middle schoolers, there isn't much we can do right this second. The constant implication that the club actually has a hand in all of this isn't fair. We didn't vote the law into place, and we can't convince the landlord not to give us a hard time about smokers.  We HAVE been trying to accommodate our smokers. Believe me, we have been. But nobody is happy. Smokers are unhappy because they can't smoke indoors or outdoors, and when we do allow the smoking in the lounge (which IS legal according to how the law was written) then the non-smokers threaten to call the Health Department.

How about you smokers and non-smokers who are complaining all the time get together and work out some compromise between both groups then approach us with a solution. We'll let you know if it will work.

[Marie]

Again, for tonight's Kix show we are allowing smoking in the lounge bar only. No outside smoking, and no smoking in the concert hall.

Thank you.

[Imasmf]

See Marie, we actually agree. I think I said if smokers & non smokers would just respect each other all this damn legislation wouldn't be necessary.  You said "The constant implication that the club actually has a hand in all of this isn't fair" I've agreed in most if not all my posts that I know its not Jaxx fault, its the government. So that said I don't lodge my complaint to the owners as you suggest but to my representatives.

Now if its legal some nights I would like to request smoking April 7th for the green jello show. This is one that I will come to, I've already gotten the night off work. If its a no-smo show then I'll just aim to come right before their set and leave right after. I'm really looking forward to seeing Bill, Aaron again and would like to hang out and drink one with them but life is full of choices and I'll make them as they're tossed at me.

Another request would be that the decision on smo or no-smo be made a bit more beforehand then the day of the show if possible. I'm a nightshifter so need to sleep in the day need to plan what time to leave before I crash for the day.

See I can be reasonable, I request, you guys decide and I make my choices, easy. Thanks

[Marie]

We mostly take into consideration how many people are in the building, what seems to be the median age, etc. It's a show by show basis right now. Who knows? We just might allow smoking that night. But I won't know until closer to doors on any particular night.

[Djinn]

I would like to request smoking April 7th for the green jello show.

SECONDED! I can't wait for this show