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By Jeff Sherman OnMilwaukee.com Staff Writer E-mail author | Author bio More articles by Jeff Sherman

Published Aug. 24, 2009 at 10:50 a.m.

Tags: blu, pfister, smoke free, smoking ban, night life

Blu, atop The Pfister Hotel in Downtown, is finally going smoke-free. Rather than going cold turkey and waiting for Wisconsin's No Smoking law to take effect, Blu is doing a step down program, adding one smoke-free day each week.

This is an interesting concept as it also ties into a remodeling of Blu that, appropriately, will reopen in time for an American Cancer Society event on Oct. 10.

Here's the deal. Go to Blu at least three times during this five-week (Aug. 24-Sept. 26) "BluPrint to Quit Program," and you can be eligible to win an overnight stay at The Pfister Hotel and a WELL Spa relaxation package. For each visit, guests will get a punch on their "BluPrint to Quit" card.

So, Blue is going smoke free and using it as way to building business before a short hiatus that will remove the smoke stains and completely renovate the space.

Personally, I love this bar. The views, martinis and cashews are marvelous. But, I've always thought it was way too smoky for its size. So, for this drinker, I'm on board with its "BluPrint to Quit."

Keep reading for more details on Blu's new look, coming this October.

10 comments about this article. Post a comment / write a review.

Recent Talkbacks ...

Posted by KarenJeffries on Aug. 30, 2009 at 5:23 a.m. (report)

Orchids to Blu for joining the program, with simultaneous thorns to Blu for waiting this long to enact it.

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Posted by PlayerGotGame on Aug. 27, 2009 at 12:17 a.m. (report)

Suggesting that the consumption of alcohol and the effects of cigarette smoke are related is like telling a child that masturbation will make babies. I can go have a pair of gin & juice cocktails twice a week and never harm a soul, myself included. If I like up a big old cigar or even a Kool menthol, I'm killing myself along with everyone who is in the building with me. I'm all for the rights of businesses, but just like laws regarding asbestos abatement, safety belts, air bags, speed limits, CO2 emissions, and product safety--it is time to ban smoking in public places, including bars. My crew and I roll out several nights a week and some of the boys do smoke from time to time. No one has a problem stepping outside to take a puff, or sitting in the car if it is a chilly night. The suggestion that the government shouldn't be involved is immature and misguided. How would you like it is the health department quit inspecting restaurants or if there was no regulation that the gallon of petroleum was actually one gallon?

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Posted by Broner on Aug. 26, 2009 at 12:13 p.m. (report)

spn221's point was not perfect. Yes, there are smokers out there who think they have a right to smoke wherever, whenever. They are wrong. However, many of us who oppose the smoking ban (I myself am a non-smoker) oppose the aspect that bars are being forced to ban smoking. I know all of the arguments - bar workers are exposed to it long-term, there are other laws bars and other businesses already must conform to, etc. But the question I have is how many more restrictions are we going to put on businesses? And remember, when you go to a bar, you are drinking ALCOHOL which can resultsin all sorts of negative consequences and many of them are much more immediate than breathing in some smoke.

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Posted by bestmilw on Aug. 26, 2009 at 10:30 a.m. (report)

PERFECT point "spn221"!!!! I am so absolutely SICK AND TIRED of all my smoker friends and coworkers and everyone else who thinks its their God-given right to smoke wherever they want, whenever they want with no concern the damaging effects they are causing everyone else around them. Yes, it is your right to "smoke 'em if you got 'em", but it is also everyone else's right to breath CLEAN, FRESH air and not have someone else's second hand smoke kill you. Thank you Blu for finally stepping up and making a healthy environment in which to relax in. I cannot wait until all other bars in this state are forced to do the same in less than a year! My lungs thank you!

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Posted by T15 on Aug. 25, 2009 at 3:07 p.m. (report)

Good point Broner!!!

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Show me the other 5 Talkbacks

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