Cheerleaders Bar And Grill, 5560 S. 48th St., is closing after Monday, owner Dean Borgmann said. Borgmann blames a city smoking ban enacted last year for the closure.

He said Friday that his business is down 30 percent since the ban went into effect and that various specials and promotions failed to reverse the trend.

Borgmann, who has owned Cheerleaders for nearly five years, made the decision to close Tuesday, he said.

He said other factors, such as the economy, may have contributed to the sports bar’s demise, but the smoking ban is a more logical culprit, based on observations of his counterparts outside Lincoln.

"You go to the small towns around," Borgmann said. "Denton, Emerald Waverly, — those places are all packed on the weekend, just doing great business.

“Even with high gas prices people are willing to drive to a smaller town.”

The closing, Borgmann said, will put his mostly part-time work force of 26 out of work.

“They’re all good people,” he said. “Hopefully, they won’t have too much trouble finding another job.”

Employment in the hospitality industry, and tax revenues from that industry, haven’t shown a decline, said Bruce Dart, director of the Lincoln-Lancaster County Health Department.

Dart said he has been following the industry since the smoking ban was enacted, and hasn’t seen evidence that the ban has had a negative effect on the city.

Reach Rodd Cayton at 473-7107 or rcayton@journalstar.com.