Gainesville’s oldest Irish pub has decided to become smoke-free.
Durty Nelly’s, located at 208 W. University Ave., has recently started to forbid customers and patrons from smoking cigarettes inside. The local bar, which has allowed smoking inside since its opening in September 1994, decided to make the change to bring in more customers and stay relevant to Gainesville where smoking is seen as a dying trend.
"Basically we felt it was the time now," said Gosia Jagusiak, a bartender at Durty Nelly’s. "It’s a dying habit. There’s less smokers now."
Jagusiak said allowing customers to smoke inside proved to be a limitation on customers — even her friends wouldn’t come visit her at the bar because of the former smoking policy.
Krista Farmer is one of the Gainesville locals who refused to visit the bar due to the smoking inside. The UF graduate architecture student said she is allergic to tobacco smoke and used to find it difficult to even enter the establishment.
"I remember just walking in and the place being filled with smoke," the 27-year-old said.
But now, she said she’s happy to go to the bar with her friends to drink and watch the UF football games.
Patrons used to leave the bar because of the smoking allowed indoors, Jagusiak said, but now there is a space outside specifically made for smokers who visit Nelly’s.
However, despite the outdoor area, Shauna Dixon, the manager and co-owner of the bar, said a few of Nelly’s regular patrons have temporarily stopped visiting since the bar changed to being smoke-free. But the change wasn’t personal, Dixon said, despite the unhappiness of the smoking bar patrons — only business.
"I hope they come back," Dixon said. "We’ll keep their stools warm for them."
