Cherry Red Goes Smoke Free... For a Night

By Andrew Peerless in Miscellaneous on Apr 21, 2005 1:00PM

It's no secret that Chicagoist rather enjoys the drink, but we've never really been fond of the after-effects of a night at a smoky bar: the dry itchy eyes, the parched crackly throat, and worst of all, the ashtray funk that invades every piece of clothing we so much as looked at during the night.

Chicago has been awash in conversation about a possible smoking ban for a while now, and the North Side's Cherry Red is reinvigorating the debate this evening by banning smoking for the night. The event is actually a partnership between the bar, whose owner - Jessica Kwiatkowski - is pregnant and thus does not frequent her own establishment, the American Lung Association of Metropolitan Chicago and... a Columbia College advertising class?

It goes like this: Columbia Professor Larry Minsky's senior advertising class, which is set up as a wee ad agency, pitched smoke-free bar nights to the Lung Association, and roped in Cherry Red to test the waters of their new initiative. All parties are hoping to demonstrate that bars and lounges can, in fact, survive (and even thrive) if their patrons are not allowed to smoke.

Can't make it to Cherry Red tonight? They'll be hosting another smoke-free night next Thurday. If Thursday is just not your night or Cherry Red is not your joint of choice, sign up to be notified about future smoke-free bar nights at www.lungchicago.org or by calling 312.628.0233.