Some bars ignore smoking ban to keep customers
AKRON, Ohio (AP) _ Some Ohio bar and restaurant owners are ignoring the state's public smoking ban for fear of losing customers, risking fines up to $2,500 and nuisance charges before the health board.
The ban, passed by Ohio voters in November 2006, outlaws indoor smoking in most public places, including bars, restaurants, bowling alleys and, pending court appeals, private clubs such as VFW halls.
Many businesses are trying to bring their workplaces into compliance, said Cheri Christ, the sanitation supervisor for the Akron Health Department. Many others quietly — or in some cases flagrantly — ignore the ban in an attempt to hold on to a regular customer base.
Local health departments began enforcing the law on May 3, and have since logged about 17,900 complaints of violations, or 92 a day. After an initial warning, a second violation is $100, growing to $2,500 for fifth and subsequent violations.
Fines can double for bar owners who flagrantly break the rules, said Terry Tuttle, environmental health supervisor for the Summit County Health Department, who is charged with enforcing the law. Business owners may also face nuisance charges before the state health board, which could lead to more fines or possibly forced closure of their business.
To date, Corky's Thomastown Cafe in Akron has drawn 37 complaints and owner Billy McFrye has been fined $100. McFrye said the ban has cost him at least 25 percent of his business.
"People aren't coming out," he said. "I've got numbers from last year to this year, and you can see it. It's unreal. It's gross."
Contrary to some predictions, nonsmokers haven't come out to replace smokers who now choose to do their drinking at home.
"Nonsmokers don't go out anyway," McFrye said. "They're the cheapest people breathing air. I've been in business 23 years, and I know there's nothing cheaper than a nonsmoker. I'm really upset with it. I wish the people who voted for it would get cancer."
Bars and restaurants may suffer a further drop in sales as winter approaches and smokers are forced to bundle up to step outside for a smoke, said Jacob Evans, spokesman for the Ohio Licensed Beverage Association.
However, other business owners credit the ban with increased business. Ed Gazdacko, owner of Sto-Kent Family Entertainment Center in Stow, a bar and bowling center, worried that business would suffer but after an initial drop after the ban has seen an influx of new customers.
"The atmosphere is better. I've got new families coming in here, and they tell me: 'We knew you kept a clean place, but because there was secondhand smoke, we didn't come here. Now we do," Gazdacko said.
Some are seeking creative methods to keep customers coming without the appeal of indoor ashtrays. After business dropped about 25 percent at Bingo Night at the Immaculate Heart of Mary Catholic Church in Cuyahoga Falls, the church dressed up its outdoor space with an awning, free coffee and propane heaters to keep smokers warm in chilly weather.
The church's bingo business is back to at least 95 percent of what it was before the smoking ban, and attracted some new players, said parishioner Matt Pagni.
"Prior to the smoking ban, it was awful," Pagni said. "You'd come home from bingo, peel off your clothes and head straight to the shower."