Local
Restaurant, bar smoking ban may pass legislature after all
By: LIndsay Perna
Special to The Examiner
February 6, 2009
When Nora and David Barnes opened Afterlife 360 in the fall, they envisioned a peaceful, eco-friendly bar-restaurant: organic vodka, bonsai trees, fluorescent light bulbs and no smoking.
After nine weeks, when the white-linen tables sat largely empty in the Manassas establishment, the mother-son duo dumped the organics and brought in pool tables. And David Barnes sent a text message to the community: “Non-smoking sucks. I will be the first to light up. Come on in.”
The Barnes’ may soon find themselves back where they started. For the first time in Virginia’s history, a restaurant and bar smoking ban has a serious chance of passing the legislature.
Gov. Tim Kaine and House Speaker William Howell, who has previously sent such measures to their deaths, announced compromise legislation on Thursday that would prohibit smoking in bars and restaurants throughout the state, with exceptions for private clubs, outdoor patios and specially designated, independently ventilated rooms.
Many Old Dominion restaurants, especially in Northern Virginia, voluntarily have cut out smoking, to no apparent economic detriment, although David Barnes said switching Afterlife 360 to a smoking joint boosted sales by 80 percent.
Restaurant and bar owners on Thursday were split on the effects of the potential ban, though they were reassured that it would apply to their competition, as well.
By Valentine’s Day, Mango Mike’s General Manager Bill Blackburn said the Alexandria bar-restaurant will get “a head start on this thing” and go smoke-free.
“This is where our society is headed,” he said. “We want to carve out a new niche for potential customers out there.”
Blackburn said that after many complaints, the transition is going to be the best for the rest of his customers, though he said he feels bad for the smoking patrons.
“It’s kind of like we’re stabbing them in the back.”
If passed, the ban would represent an extraordinary departure from Virginia, which has resisted anti-tobacco legislation even as the District, Maryland and other states have cut out smoking in their bars and eateries. Philip Morris, the nation’s largest tobacco company, is based in Richmond.
Some owners remained troubled by the legislation. For Woodbridge restaurant owner Jay Miller, his smoking patrons make up 80 percent of Gators Billiards & Cafe’s customer base. As a cigar bar and cafe, “it will probably put us out of business,” Miller said.
In Annandale, “there will be some people that will be happy with it and others that won’t,” Sunset Grille owner Sheldon Youtz said.
Youtz has been running Sunset Grille for 20 years. He said he is optimistic about accommodating a nonsmoking environment.
Even though it will be a change for his regulars, he said, “we will adapt to it.”
After nine weeks, when the white-linen tables sat largely empty in the Manassas establishment, the mother-son duo dumped the organics and brought in pool tables. And David Barnes sent a text message to the community: “Non-smoking sucks. I will be the first to light up. Come on in.”
The Barnes’ may soon find themselves back where they started. For the first time in Virginia’s history, a restaurant and bar smoking ban has a serious chance of passing the legislature.
Gov. Tim Kaine and House Speaker William Howell, who has previously sent such measures to their deaths, announced compromise legislation on Thursday that would prohibit smoking in bars and restaurants throughout the state, with exceptions for private clubs, outdoor patios and specially designated, independently ventilated rooms.
Many Old Dominion restaurants, especially in Northern Virginia, voluntarily have cut out smoking, to no apparent economic detriment, although David Barnes said switching Afterlife 360 to a smoking joint boosted sales by 80 percent.
Restaurant and bar owners on Thursday were split on the effects of the potential ban, though they were reassured that it would apply to their competition, as well.
By Valentine’s Day, Mango Mike’s General Manager Bill Blackburn said the Alexandria bar-restaurant will get “a head start on this thing” and go smoke-free.
“This is where our society is headed,” he said. “We want to carve out a new niche for potential customers out there.”
Blackburn said that after many complaints, the transition is going to be the best for the rest of his customers, though he said he feels bad for the smoking patrons.
“It’s kind of like we’re stabbing them in the back.”
If passed, the ban would represent an extraordinary departure from Virginia, which has resisted anti-tobacco legislation even as the District, Maryland and other states have cut out smoking in their bars and eateries. Philip Morris, the nation’s largest tobacco company, is based in Richmond.
Some owners remained troubled by the legislation. For Woodbridge restaurant owner Jay Miller, his smoking patrons make up 80 percent of Gators Billiards & Cafe’s customer base. As a cigar bar and cafe, “it will probably put us out of business,” Miller said.
In Annandale, “there will be some people that will be happy with it and others that won’t,” Sunset Grille owner Sheldon Youtz said.
Youtz has been running Sunset Grille for 20 years. He said he is optimistic about accommodating a nonsmoking environment.
Even though it will be a change for his regulars, he said, “we will adapt to it.”
William C. Flook contributed to this report.
