Deep in the French Quarter of New Orleans sits La Habana Hemingway, a cigar bar that is the middle of a fight for their proverbial lives.
The issue at hand is that La Habana Hemingway a cigar bar is listed as a restaurant despite selling little to no food. According to some it was a move made at the shops inception to circumvent that law that no new bars could open in this commercial area of the city, in the French Quarter. as in accordance with selling cigars.
City Councilwoman thinks she has a solution that would create a new category of “Tobacco Retail Business”. Under this proposal La Habana could allow smoking and switch its state alcohol permit from restaurant to cocktail lounge. The bill defines a tobacco retail business as an establishment that makes most of its revenue from tobacco, but can still sell alcohol as long as the profits are incidental.
A hearing is expected on the matter before it goes before the city council, without the change the La Habana would succumb to the cities new no smoking laws which will take effect in April.
