Restaurant smoking ban puffing along a year later

The Associated Press

SPRINGFIELD, Mo. -- A year after city officials here banned smoking in most restaurants, some business owners continue to bemoan the loss of customers and diners complain about the disruptions to their routines.

"It should be up to the owners," said Bill Houston, whose fondness for a cigarette with his morning coffee has made it hard for him to go to his favorite haunt, Montgomery's Restaurant. "I don't want to have to find new places to go."

But it appears much of the smoke is starting to dissipate.

City council members, who enacted the law on July 7, 2003, are no longer planning to put the issue before voters in November so that they can close a number of loopholes, and business leaders have stopped trying to change the law themselves.

"I think people are getting used to it," said Mayor Tom Carlson. "It created some hardships on some businesses initially. Most of the restaurants that have been affected have adjusted."

Members of Breathe Easy Springfield, which pushed for the clean-air ordinance, celebrated the one-year anniversary Wednesday with a cake while continuing to press their message.

"We want what's best for the community," said member Dr. Jim Blaine. "We're trying to educate the restaurants that secondhand smoke is not a good thing. They're not only putting their patrons at risk, but their employees as well."

Still, some restaurants continue to cater to smokers by taking advantage of exemptions in the ordinance.

For instance, if a business sells $200,000 or more in liquor a year or liquor makes up more than half of all profits, then smoking is permitted. Restaurants with fewer than 50 seats can allow smoking, as can restaurants that serve liquor and have a separate area for smokers with ventilation.

"It has been great for business," said Ismail Balazi, manager of Ben's Carriage House, which built a windowed wall separating the smoking and nonsmoking sections and installed ventilation. "The last thing you want to do is take the choice away from the customers."

But other restaurants, unable or unwilling to use the loopholes, worry about their future.

Edna Hardwick, owner of Montgomery's, said she's never served liquor and doesn't think she should have to just to keep her 40-year-old eatery from closing. But most of her customers have flocked to other diners.

"A year ago this place would have been full," Hardwick said, indicating the small lunch crowd. "Now we're operating in the red."