Owner of 181-year-old Lafayette bar says no more smoking

LAFAYETTE, Ind. (AP) - The owner of a 181-year-old bar in Lafayette says smoking will no longer be allowed.

Knickerbocker Saloon owner Jeff Hamann tells WLFI-TV (http://bit.ly/27QP3DL ) he made the decision after his mother died from smoking complications. He says some smokers were disappointed but others seemed to understand when he made the decision. He says they told him, "it's the wave of the future, it's the way the world is."

Hamann says smoking cigarettes and electronic cigarettes won't be allowed inside the downtown Lafayette bar. People can smoke on the patio.

Hamann hopes he doesn't lose any customers. The bar's general manager, Deborah Walstra, says she's seen new people coming in who avoided Knickerbocker Saloon before because of the smoke. Walstra says "now they actually get to embrace the history we have here."

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Information from: WLFI-TV, http://www.wlfi.com/