Wharton freshman Angela Hu: Where did you come up with [the name] "Smokey Joe's"?
Paul Ryan: That's been on there since Prohibition. It's the name of the original owner. ... His name was Claire Smoke, so they called it Smokey Joe's. The license was issued right after Prohibition, in 1933.
College senior Nina Mirarchi: How do you feel about the smoking ban?
PR: I don't really care either way. One way or the other, it doesn't really affect me. I don't think it will be detrimental, and I don't think it will help -- it won't hurt. People will just adjust.
College and Wharton freshman Stefanos Kasselakis: How strict is your carding policy?
PR: Twenty-one, straight 21.
Wharton freshman Ziyu Zhang: Why aren't bars more aesthetically pleasing?
PR: This is a college bar. It's decorated to be a college bar, and it's built to be a college bar because a college bar takes a pretty good beating. It's not decorated like Le Bec-Fin because [students] would tear it up in a week. Everything has to be nailed down, otherwise it will be torn apart. As far as tables and chairs, people end up dancing on them, so you don't spend a lot of money on expensive furniture. You don't put the orientals and the good antiques in the basement rec room.
College sophomore Alexis McFarlane: Why doesn't Smokey Joe's let [people] under 21 in? As in 18 to enter?
PR: It's against the law. In order to do that, you have to have two separate areas. You have to have one area for [under 21] and one area for over 21. We don't have that, and ... it doesn't work anyway.
Wharton freshman Carl Ge: What made you decide to enforce IDs so rigidly in exchange for profits?
PR: In the long run, by the time [underclassmen] are seniors, they'll get tired of the place. So I just want all 21, all seniors, and those juniors who have turned 21. I don't want freshmen or sophomores.
College senior Danny Gomez: How are you [dealing] with the competition on campus? Like Copabanana?
PR: I don't really compete. The more the other bars do around here, the better it is for this area. Since MarBar, Brownies and Copa have opened up, I've had my best year. More people stay around campus. As more places open up in University City, Old City becomes old and University City becomes new. More people want to hang out in University City.
Paul Ryan - Owner of legendary campus bar Smokey Joe's, which has been in his family since 1952 - Has sent a brother, a nephew and four children (including Nursing junior Jackie Ryan) through Penn - Can often be found at the bar's entrance checking IDs on peak party nights
