Yep, that's the way it was when I worked at Friday's back in the late 80's - early 90's. And the bar area was elevated so you could see it from all over.Though one thing the buckeyes do get right... kids allowed in the bar areas of restaurants. I laugh when I see places like Ralph and Avas, or Wings etc where the only delineation between the bar area and restaurant is open railings made of 2" cast iron pipe.
Ohio does it right. They can be at tables in the bar, just not seated AT the bar. Here they can only be NEXT to the bar area, and nothing has to hide the bar area from sight. Ridiculous.