\u201cBut I don\u2019t think it\u2019ll make the craziest difference.\u201d<\/p>\n
Others see it differently. Supervisor Myrna Melgar called her ordinance to prohibit smoking on outdoor patios at bars an effort to \u201cclean up\u201d the city\u2019s code by bringing it into compliance with more recent updates to state law, and to \u201cclose the loophole\u201d currently provided to outdoor patios.<\/p>\n
![\"A](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/Temple-Bar-Patio-853x640.jpeg\")
Temple Bar in the Inner Sunset is within Myrna Melgar\u2019s district. The bar boasts a rather sophisticated patio setup, and has a designated smoking section (pictured on the right), at least for now. Photo by Nicholas David.<\/p>\n
The benefits will likely be debated on many a patio over the next few weeks as the Board of Supervisors considers the change, first introduced<\/a> April 7.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cIt will be detrimental to the bar business,\u201d said Corey Grosklos, a bartender at the Blarney Stone on Geary Boulevard in the Richmond, which hosted a handful of regular smokers one recent weeknight.<\/p>\n \u201cI understand there are health concerns,\u201d Grosklos said, \u201cbut having a patio \u2014 that helps your bar.\u201d<\/p>\n Melgar\u2019s amendment would also ban smoking from certain indoor spaces like some hotel rooms to reflect changes made at the state level. While there is no statewide prohibition on smoking on outdoor patios in California, Oakland<\/a> and over 100 other municipalities have enacted such a ban.<\/a><\/p>\n The Oakland law, as well as Melgar\u2019s ordinance, references research done by local advocacy group LGBTQ Minus Tobacco.<\/p>\n The study the group conducted for San Francisco, in partnership with UCSF researchers, found that six of nine bar patios visited in the city had unhealthy air quality levels. The study has not been formally published, but is also noted on its website<\/a>.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cSan Francisco has historically been a leader in tobacco prevention legislation, but has fallen behind others when it comes to protecting bar workers and patrons from exposure to deadly second hand smoke,\u201d said Brian Davis, who served as project director for LGBTQ Minus Tobacco and now continues to work as a volunteer.<\/p>\n Another volunteer, Joseph Andrew Hayden, said he\u2019s lost family members to smoking. He said he goes to gay bars with patios like the Lone Star<\/a> and the Eagle, and festivals like Bearisson and Folsom<\/a>, where smoking is commonplace.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cI just will not subscribe to the school of thought that this is part of gay culture,\u201d Hayden said. He said he\u2019s surveyed people including friends who said \u201cthat it would be easier for them to quit if they themselves were not surrounded by it.\u201d<\/p>\n As for Hayden: \u201cI know that I would be much more likely and much more comfortable if I could go out to these places and actually inhale.\u201d<\/p>\n Dr. Sarita Satpathy, President of the San Francisco Marin Medical Society, also spoke in support of the ordinance. Referring to research by the Centers for Disease Control, Satpathy said, \u201cThere is no safe level of exposure to second hand smoke.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n Some bars already have a no-smoking policy for their patios.\u00a0<\/p>\n Casements bar and restaurant in the Mission has never allowed smoking in its spacious patio \u2014 \u201cbecause you can\u2019t have smoking and food together,\u201d said bar manager Mo Huynh.\u00a0<\/p>\n Huynh also spoke with Davis in support of the ordinance, and told Mission Local later that the smoke-free outdoor patio has been good for business.<\/p>\n \u201cIt would just distract from the great smell of our French onion soup and our fish and chips,\u201d Huynh said. \u201cWe want everyone to feel welcome and not feel like it\u2019s a dive bar.\u201d<\/p>\n Bars like the Blarney Stone, however, appear firmly in the divey camp. As with smoking indoors, the local business owners there would bear the responsibility of enforcing the restriction, subject to the same penalties.<\/p>\n Patrons smoking outside at the Blarney Stone also came to the patio\u2019s defense. One regular, who comes from a few neighborhoods away, said he\u2019d likely come to the bar less if he couldn\u2019t enjoy a smoke on the patio. Another said she prefers the privacy of the backyard to the sidewalk. The pair declined to give their names.<\/p>\n Richmond resident Dominic Tomasini was also out smoking on the bar\u2019s patio, looking after a dog. Tomasini had apparently had a couple of cold ones before offering his opinion.<\/p>\n \u201cI think it\u2019s a despicable nanny state overreach into private business affairs,\u201d Tomasini said bluntly. He went on, and at some point, the dog at his feet began to heave.<\/p>\n \u201cPeople are gonna smoke regardless. You take away this spot and everybody\u2019s just gonna go out on Geary.\u201d<\/p>\n The dog then threw up, right there on the patio.<\/p>\n \t\t\t\t![\"Outdoor](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/Blarney-Stone-853x640.jpeg\")
The backyard outdoor patio at the Blarney Stone in the Richmond. Photo by Nicholas David.<\/p>\n