AND THE FIRST VICTIM IS...

Lovejoy's closing in March By Joe Gross
American-Statesman Staff

Lovejoy's Bar and Taproom soon will be no more.

The beloved hangout at 604 Neches has been a downtown staple for 12 years, but plans to close toward the end of March.

"It's the high cost of doing business versus the low cost of fewer people coming in," Lovejoy's owner Joseph Tait, 40, said Wednesday. "Costs are going up, and numbers are down."

"This has been coming for quite a while, but it came to a head through October," Tait said. "It's not just the numbers thing," he said blaming the smoking ban for driving the final nail into the bar's coffin.

"As a 25 year vet of the hospitality business, I hate the fact that I walk into work everyday and face negativity because people aren't allowed to do what they enjoy doing, which is have a cigarette with their beer" Tait said. "It's just uncomfortable. When your patrons tell you every day that they're not enjoying themselves, what are you going to do?"

Tait said they planned a March closure to "get one more South By Southwest under our belt," but he is unsure what his next move will be.

"I'm thinking about opening a Wal-Mart," Tait said. "Those guys make money."

Roger