The curtain's coming down at The Rock as smoking ban enforced

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) Brian Bauman's career as a stage manager lasted about a month.

Bauman owns The Rock, a hard-rock and heavy metal bar in suburban Maplewood. He says the city attorney paid him a visit yesterday and told him to put a stop to the faux (foh) "theatrical productions" he has been staging to get around a state ban on smoking in bars and restaurants.

Bauman says he was warned that if he doesn't comply, his liquor license could be in jeopardy.

The Rock is one of about three dozen bars in Minnesota that began staging the productions to exploit a loophole in the law that exempts performers in theatrical productions.

The state Health Department announced last week that it would begin cracking down on "theater nights" with fines of as much as $10,000.

(Copyright 2008 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.) APNP 03-13-08 1937CDT | save this article / add to your favorites list