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Many Restaurants Are Going Smoke-Free - and Loving the Results

Posted on: Saturday, 18 March 2006, 12:00 CST

By Nancy Young, The Virginian-Pilot, Norfolk, Va.

Mar. 18--They don't have to do it.

There's no law that says a restaurant in Virginia has to ban smoking. In fact, a proposed law that would have said that was killed recently in the General Assembly.

But some restaurants outlaw cigarette smoking anyway. "It's definitely the health issue that needs to be addressed," said Jim Farsi, co-owner of Aldo's Ristorante in Virginia Beach. "It's not as much the economic impact as it is the health issue. Why should people be exposed to second hand smoke?"

Aldo's is one of dozens on a list of restaurants in Virginia Beach for people who "want to know where to go to be smoke-free," said Charlene Learner, coordinator of the city health department's cardiovascular health project, which compiles the list in conjunction with the Coalition for a Smoke-free Virginia Beach.

"It's just healthier to eat in a place where there's no smoke," said Miki Donovan, field director of training and education for the American Lung Association of Virginia, who is also co-chairman of the Coalition for a Smoke-free Chesapeake.

To be considered smoke-free, the entire facility must not permit smoking. Banning smoking in the restaurant but not the bar area doesn't qualify. Neither does banning it for only some of the hours the business is open.

"There may be exceptions for facilities that have separate rooms with doors between them and separate entrances," Donovan said, but added that "as far as I know, we do not have any restaurants considered smoke-free that have smoking and non smoking in the same facility."

Farsi said that when the decision was made three years ago to make Aldo's smoke-free, there was some worry.

"We lost some business, but we gained a lot more," he said. While a few customers have balked at not being allowed to smoke, Farsi said there are "a lot more folks on the opposite end."

That's in line with the research on the issue, Donovan said.

"Any place they've done it, after about six months their business actually increases," she said .

Buffalo Beach in Virginia Beach has been smoke-free since it opened in July, said its co-owner Steve Giuffre. The decision was not difficult, he said -- not only because of the health benefits, but also because smoking has sharply declined.

Making the restaurant smoke-free also helped put a "family-friendly spin on the sports bar," he said.

Those customers who do smoke, he added, "typically will step outside and don't seem to mind."

Giuffre and Farsi said they frequently hear positive comments from customers about the smoke-free status.

"You go to a lot of sports bars and it's really smoky," said Jim Denning , enjoying a plate of wings at Buffalo Beach this week. "Here you can enjoy yourself and not leave smelling like you've smoked a pack of cigarettes."

Joe Zaremski, co-owner of San Antonio Sams in Norfolk, thinks he has the best of both worlds.

The restaurant area has been non smoking since it opened 15 years ago. Smoking is allowed in the bar area, which is in a separate room. A "smoke-eater" or air purifier is placed at the entry.

"It's a unique situation," Zaremski said. "We have a big bar business with lots of smokers and a great restaurant business with non smokers.

"I'm not sure what my decision would be if we just had one room."

Reach Nancy Young at (757) 446-2947 or nancy.young@pilotonline.com.

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Source: The Virginian-Pilot

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