By CYNTHIA VINARSKY

By CYNTHIA VINARSKY
VINDICATOR BUSINESS WRITER
ON'T THINK OF GARY Combine as a health crusader.
He and his brothers Jeff and Chris were just being practical when they decided in March to make their Hermitage, Pa., bar and grill smoke-free.
"We're not leading a charge against smokers," said the co-owner of Combine Bros. Bar & amp; Grille on state Route 18. "We were just looking for a way to seat our customers more efficiently, and this has helped."
Lines often form outside long before the Italian eatery and pub opens for dinner at 3:30 p.m., he said, so eliminating the smoking section helps to shorten the wait.
Combine acknowledged that he, his brothers and the other family members who work at the restaurant-bar are all nonsmokers.
"We've noticed that the air is cleaner and the place smells fresher, but those are just side benefits," he said. "Realistically, we did it because we wanted to help our business and keep our customers happy."
Combine said the business started out as a tavern when it opened 14 years ago, but that changed gradually as people heard about the family's homemade Italian cuisine. Now the bar, which is part of the dining room, is secondary to the restaurant business.
Survey of customers
The owners did an informal survey of their regular customers for several weeks before implementing the smoking ban. Most, even the smokers, said they come to Combine's for the food and they'd keep coming whether they could smoke or not.
Not everybody appreciates the change, of course.
"We have had a couple folks turn around and walk out," he said. "We expected that would happen. We're going to stick with it. "
New laws prohibiting smoking in workplaces, restaurants and bars have made smoke-free restaurants commonplace in some parts of the United States. The Centers for Disease Control reported six states and 80 municipalities have approved smoke-free workplace legislation that includes office, restaurant, bar, bingo, bowling, nightclub, and casino workers.
In the minority
But locally, smoke-free bars and restaurants are the minority. Al Stabilito, a spokesman for the American Cancer Society's Mahoning, Trumbull and Columbiana branch said there are no state laws banning smoking in Ohio, and establishments that set up nonsmoking sections do it voluntarily.
The same is true in Pennsylvania.
"The Cancer Society certainly encourages businesses to consider banning smoking," Stabilito said, citing the danger of second-hand smoke to restaurant workers and nonsmoking customers.
The Trumbull County Health Department released a brochure in January listing 40 smoke-free restaurants in that county. Tobacco educator Gina Ross said she called every one of the 154 restaurants in Warren and surrounding areas to compile the list.
The biggest share of smokeless establishments listed are fast-food franchises, including most Burger King and McDonald's outlets, but Ross also found 11 locally owned restaurants that have taken the smoke-free plunge.
The Hippodrome
Gust Savakis included his Hippodrome restaurant in downtown Warren on that smoke-free list.
Savakis said the popular lunch spot has been smoke-free since he opened 15 years ago. He did it because the design of his dining room doesn't lend itself to separate smoking and nonsmoking sections.
"We realize we're losing 25 percent of our business because we're nonsmoking. Some people walk out when they see they can't smoke here," he said. "To us, it's worth it."
A former smoker who quit more than two decades ago, Savakis said he thinks smoke-free restaurants will become a nationwide trend. For now, he's glad that public buildings and most stores in Warren also prohibit smoking. "It helps not to be the only game in town," he said.
Making the smoke-free switch hasn't hurt business for the Perkins Restaurant in Canfield, said general manager Karen Ramsey.
In fact, she said, sales are up and guest counts have increased since the eatery completed a renovation and went smoke-free in August.
"We've had a few who weren't happy, but overall response has been outstanding," Ramsey said. "Guest counts are up, sales are up. Of course, it could be a response to the remodeling too."
Perkins
The Canfield Perkins is one of only two smoke-free restaurants operated by Travaglini Enterprises, a Meadville, Pa., company that owns 29 Perkins in Ohio and Pennsylvania.
Ramsey said the owners considered the proximity of other Perkins restaurants that do accommodate smokers before making their Canfield and Erie, Pa., stores smoke-free.
Locally, they reasoned, the Boardman and Austintown Perkins allow smoking and are relatively close to the Canfield store. The same is true in Erie.
Scarsella Restaurant owners Connie Kushma and her sons Sean and Dale had some practical reasons for making their family's Italian eatery smoke-free when it moved to its location at 4151 Market St. in 1996.
The restaurant's previous locations might have been better suited to providing smoking and nonsmoking sections, she said, but the present spot has a dining room not easily divided.
"I have to say, a lot of people were upset with us when we did this," Kushma admitted.
"It was a health issue. We did it for us, because we're here all day, and for our customers too. And the food tastes so much better without the smoke, and curtains don't turn yellow like they used to."
Some customers dropped off when the no-smoking rule took effect, she said, but the restaurant has added some new regulars who like the smoke-free atmosphere.
"When they learn there's no smoking, they say: How nice!," she said. "It's coming along more and more, now that we all understand how dangerous second-hand smoke is."
vinarsky@vindy.com