Faced with the prospect of having smoking banned by law in Michigan’s bars and restaurants, local proprietors had mixed feelings on the subject.
‘I think it should be the business owner’s choice,? said Jeff Collier, owner of Collier Lanes, an Oxford bowling alley with two bars inside. ‘I don’t think they should intervene in that.?
‘I’m all for it,? said Mike Phipps, owner of The Oxford Tap. ‘I’m a non-smoker and I’m tired of breathing it.?
Last week, the Democrat-controlled Michigan House of Representatives voted 56-46 to ban smoking in places of employment and most public places, including bars (except cigar bars) and restaurants. On Tuesday, the Republican-controlled state Senate sent the bill to the Government Operations and Reform Committee, chaired by Majority Leader Mike Bishop (R-Rochester), who opposes a ban.
Proponents of the ban believe it will now die in that committee. It’s customary for bills opposed by the majority to die in committee without a vote of the full chamber.
‘I’m neither for nor against,? said Gary Lepak, owner of Kalloway’s Restaurant and Pub. ‘As a business owner, I welcome both groups (smokers and non-smokers) in and I accommodate them, so I will just go along with whatever the policy is when the majority rules. That’s how I look at it.?
‘I’m a libertarian ? I want government to stay out of my life and I don’t really like them telling me what to do,? said Brett Knapp, owner of Red Knapp’s American Grill. ‘But I’ve got to admit it would make my life a little bit easier here.?
‘I don’t think a smoker has rights as much as a non-smoker. I felt that even when I smoked,? said Bob Hubbard, owner of Oxford Hills Golf & Country Club, which has a bar and restaurant inside the clubhouse. ‘But I also think the business owner should be the person that determines whether he wants his business non-smoking or not.?
‘I would appreciate (it) if the state government would pass the ban,? said Mark Smith, owner of the Lakeville Inn restaurant in Addison and an ex-smoker. ‘I just don’t know that people who are healthy and have chosen to get away from that should continue to be subjected to it against their will.?
Local restaurateurs and bar owners were mixed as to the possible impact of a smoking ban on their profit margins.
‘I think it will have a brief impact, but people are born to socialize, so eventually they’re going to come back out of their houses,? Phipps said. ‘Florida did this several years ago. I have friends that own restaurants (down there) and they said the same thing, it was brief, but the people came back, eventually. They still want to get out and get served.?
Lepak said ‘in the beginning it might have a small affect just like any other? change, such as a new restaurant opening up in the area. But in the end, ‘it will be fine.?
‘It’s definitely not a good thing for bars,? according to Collier. ‘You’re going to cut the bar business way down.?
Collier chose to eliminate smoking in the bowling alley area about four years ago, but still allows it in both his bar areas.
‘A lot of people are not going to go into the bars and have a couple cocktails after bowling,? Collier said. ‘They’re going to take off. They’re going to go somewhere they can smoke. And if they can’t smoke anywhere, they’re going home.?
‘If it was better for business, I’m sure everybody would have non-smoking all the way through,? said Hubbard, an ex-smoker who quit two years ago. ‘Alot of places are going that way and I can see that. But as of right now, I really think it shouldn’t be dictated by the legislature, it should be dictated by the business owner himself.?
‘If (a ban) were to be voluntary, I think it would (impact business). I think I would have a lot of people that would leave,? Smith said. ‘But I think a compulsory ban or a law means they can’t go anywhere and do it. And at that point I think it has a minimal effect.?
From a pure business standpoint, as long as ‘everybody’s on the same playing field,? Knapp said a ban ‘would probably make my job easier. Right now, he said business in his restaurant’s smoking section is ‘so sporadic.?
‘Our smoking section might be slow all week long, then all of the sudden you’re really busy one day and you have to staff for it,? he explained. ‘Consequently, you’ve got a wait staff person standing around doing nothing all week, not making any money. I’ve got three people that are really busy and one person that’s standing around doing nothing.? Plus, Knapp said, ‘Nobody wants to work the smoking section.?
‘So, as far as logistics, (a ban) wouldn’t bother me,? he noted.
Despite staffing issues, Knapp said he would never hoose to ban smoking in his restaurant. ‘We have some very good customers that are smokers, so I would never ban it myself,? he said. ‘I wouldn’t turn our place into a non-smoking restaurant just because I don’t want to alienate these customers.?
Knapp said he wouldn’t want the customers who ‘feel strongly about it? to ‘just go down the street.?
As a matter of principle, Knapp noted he doesn’t like the idea of government banning smoking in bars and restaurants.
‘I don’t really much care for government telling me what to do,? he explained. ‘I feel for the bar owners that want to have smoking. They should be able to have smoking.?
Collier agrees it should be a matter of choice. ‘If a majority of (a business owner’s) customers are non-smokers and he feels he can go without smoking, have it no smoking,? he said. ‘Otherwise, (the government) shouldn’t intervene.?
Regardless what happens with the proposed ban, Lepak said many smokers nowadays ‘are really being more conscientious? when it comes to considering the feelings of non-smokers. ‘They’ll get up and go outside during the better months,? he said. ‘Even today we had a few people go outside and have a cigarette on the porch.?