RubberBuzz || Akron Unleashed: Up in Smoke

11.07.2005

Up in Smoke

As you may or may not know, Summit county council is toying with the idea of banning smaoking from all public spots. That means restaurants and bars would be smoke free. I think I just heard someone shout, "That'll cause bars to close! How can this be good?" Well, lots of cities are smoke-free. Columbus, NYC and all of California are on the on the smokeless bus. It doesn't stop people from going to bars; it just causes a crowd to form by the door.

With all of this in mind, The BJ did an interview with Jack Garrett who works at one of my favorite spots, Dodie's.

Q: What was the reaction when Dodie's went smoke-free?

A: A small minority were pleased. A large majority were very upset. Even some nonsmokers were upset. We lost some customers -- people who used to come in here everyday. They said they'd go find another diner.... I miss the younger, intellectual crowd, the artists (who would smoke and hang out)... or old people who smoked. When I would go to (the now defunct) Jack Horner's restaurant, they had a little smoking island and I got to talk to people... about the Depression, World War II.

Q: What else has changed since the ban?

A: The clientele, mostly. We get more older people, more families, a lot more children. We get less artists, the intellectuals, decadents... People that do things they're not supposed to do... Customers don't hang around. With the smokers, people hang out longer. That social interaction is extremely important. That's what diners are known for -- rich and poor, sitting at the same restaurant, having a discussion... That's gone -- at least the smokers are not involved so much (in the hanging out).

(The bans) are just dispersing the social underground. There's nowhere for us to meet... except bars, and they are terrible places to meet and have a conversation.

To read more visit The BJ. To see what else the Summit County Council is up to or to let your councilperson know your opinion on the smoking ban, visit the Summim County website.

The BJ :: Worker laments smoke-free trend

Summit County Council

(joe :: Up in Smoke)

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