Restaurants Fear Smoking Ban Would Drive Customers Away

Some Valley restaurant owners and managers say they have plenty to lose if a proposed county smoking ban takes effect.

“It’ll kill us. We’re 10 miles from the Idaho border,” said Jim Divine, owner of the restaurant at the GTX Truck Stop in Greenacres. “All the business we worked for will go down.”

He’s not alone. The Spokane Restaurant and Hospitality Association voted unanimously to oppose the ban on smoking in restaurants. Some restaurant owners, however - and a most of the general public - support it.

Divine, a trucker himself, bought the restaurant in the spring. He said the ban could shut him down, because 95 percent of his patrons smoke. “Where is it going to end? Just look - everyone here is smoking,” he said, pointing around the dining room.

Divine, who was preparing for a run to Los Angeles this week, said California’s smoking ban cut patronage at truck stops there by 50 percent.

“They go to Burger King, then sit out in their trucks and eat.” he said.

GTX customers weren’t any happier about the proposed smoking ban than Divine. Gill Stebbins, a regular, sat at a smoky table with friends. “(Customers) will be going right on through” if the county enacts the smoking ban, he predicted. “I’ll just go. It isn’t that far to Post Falls.”

While the county health district board voted unanimously to ban smoking in restaurants, the matter isn’t settled yet. Health officer Dr. John Beare was instructed to review the board’s findings and draft an ordinance. To do so, he would have to declare a medical emergency. Beare’s decision will be announced Dec. 21.

Geneva Ward, president of the Spokane Restaurant and Hospitality Association, said her group will take legal action if the ban becomes a reality.

Linda Jackson, supervisor of the county’s tobacco education program, said Beare could tailor the ordinance so that it recognized the plight of businesses like GTX. California’s ordinance allows smoking if a business can prove that it would go under otherwise.

The public, she said, vastly favors the ordinance. She said a Robinson Research poll found 67 percent of county residents wanted a restaurant smoking ban, and 74 percent favored a smoke-free workplace.

“If you combine those factors, that’s a lot of people,” she said, adding that those who work in a smoky environment can actually end up breathing the equivalent of up to two packs of cigarettes per day.

Some Valley restaurants, such as Hallett Farms Market & Cafe, voluntarily ban smoking already. Owner Cindy Hallett, a former smoker, said she supports the county-wide ban.

The Parsons family, having lunch at Hallett Farms earlier this week, agreed that they liked the smoke-free environment. Bob Parsons said he’s unsure, though, about a ban. Joanne Parsons, his wife, was all for it.

“I’m for it in restaurants,” she said. “It’s just better. I feel for the smokers, though.”

Others, like Bryan Hanson, are against the ban even if their business is already smoke-free. Hanson, who manages Rosso’s Ristorante at the Red Lion Inn, said although he can’t speak for the company, he feels a ban would infringe on personal rights. “It’s more the principle,” he said.

Although most taverns wouldn’t be affected by the ordinance, some lounges connected to restaurants, such as Wine Stein’Z, would have to go smoke-free. Owner Terry Lindgren spent $9,000 on a ventilation system - money she said would be wasted if the ban is approved.

Businesses will have to wait and see. Some will worry.

Stuart Ellison, who manages the restaurant in the Flying J truck stop on East Broadway, said the Flying J in Post Falls could get a lot busier. It has different owners. “Another 15 minutes is nothing to (a trucker),” he said.

Divine said he just wants to be left alone.

“The way I see it, there is too much government involvement in business already.”

, DataTimes