OHIO ALCOHOL Will limit dry up business for some?

Bar and restaurant owners are concerned about the new blood-alcohol limit.
By ROB MEYER
VINDICATOR STAFF WRITER
As Ohio's blood-alcohol-content limit drops, frustration and concern among some bar and restaurant owners rises.
The state lowered the limit Tuesday from .10 to .08.
By dropping the figure, Ohio is complying with a federal mandate. Without the change, the state would lose 2 percent in highway funding a year.
But for some bars and restaurant owners, the change doesn't make sense.
Richard Alberini, owner of Alberini's restaurant in Niles, has been in the wine-selling business 41 years. He has never been more frustrated with a law than he is with the new blood-alcohol limit.
"Lowering it to .08 doesn't do a thing," Alberini said. "I have served a lot of alcohol to a lot of people, and I personally have never known anybody to kill another person on the road because they are drunk.
"I don't understand why the government needs to bother responsible people and responsible drinkers," he said.
Figures from agency
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration says a 170-pound man would reach .08 with four drinks in one hour on an empty stomach. A 137-pound woman would reach .08 after about three drinks in an hour on an empty stomach.
On average, a person eliminates about .02 percent of alcohol in their system per hour.
The estimates are based on a formula that accounts for sex and body weight.
Alberini said the law will not stop alcoholics from buying drinks or from driving drunk. He also expects the law to hurt his business, one of the area's top wine-selling restaurants.
"A limit of .10 is tolerable," he said. "[The new limit] is depriving somebody of a nice, second glass of wine with their meal."
Alberini said it cost his restaurant $400,000 to $500,000 when the state dropped its blood-alcohol-content limit to .10 in 1983. He doesn't expect that much of a loss this time, but he remains unhappy with the change.
"We won't lose that much this time because people have adapted to the change," he said. "Now, people who want to come here and drink have to bring someone with them who won't drink. People don't drink as much as they used to."
Other owners' comments
Jolly Joe's Sports Bar and Restaurant on Sheridan Avenue, Youngstown, also profits from alcohol sales.
Bob Pavlov, one of the owners, said Jolly Joe's is turning away from the bar scene and will focus more on selling food. He decided on the change well before the new limit became a topic. But if he hadn't, the new law would be among the reasons to shift toward the restaurant operation.
"People who come out to drink are still going to drink," he said.
An owner of the Clover Bar on Hubbard Road, who asked not to be identified, said she is concerned about how the new law will affect sales.
Some people now may be afraid to go out and a have a couple of drinks, she said.
rmeyer@vindy.com