Posted: 10/23/07
Todayís dinner special: fresh air
Editorís note: The following article was written by Bridget Kruger, a student nurse who is serving an internship with Houston County Public Health. Kruger is a senior at the University of Wisconsin-Madison.
By Bridget Kruger
As we know by now, all indoor businesses in Minnesota were required to go smoke-free on October 1st. Concerns have been raised about how the new will impact businesses. Three area restaurant owners, who went smoke-free prior to the Oct. 1 law, discussed how being smoke-free has affected their business. All three reported business did not decrease and in some cases actually increased. Basically, the results showed that going smoke-free was positive for business.
Those interviewed were Dave Jandt sole proprietor of the Redwood CafÈ in Caledonia, Troy Nolop manager/owner of Corkyís Pizza & Ice Cream in La Crescent, and also a business owner in Spring Grove. Their views on the topic were quite different.
Dave Jandtís views
Dave Jandt has owned the Redwood CafÈ for 23 years. He went smoke-free about eight years ago following a remodeling project. He said that prior to going smoke-free the air in the restaurant would be blue from all of the smoke, and he is glad he does not have to deal with that now.
He added that many people thanked him for going smoke-free and he only knows of three people that wonít come back. He even said that one person said he would never come back but came back within three days. One of the interesting things Jandt said was that smokers even told him that they donít like smoke while they are eating so it was actually appreciated by them also.
When asked how going smoke-free has affected his business overall, Jandt said that he canít say that it has increased but he can say it hasnít decreased. He thinks the biggest impact will be on bars and that people will drink at home so they can smoke rather than go to a bar.
In the end, Jandt believes that going smoke-free should be a personal decision made by a business owner. He does not agree with the governmentís decision. He thinks a business should decide if it is going to 100% smoking or 100% non-smoking and the customers can decide where they want to spend their money. He also discussed a potential problem with the law. He has seen in other countries that if people canít smoke inside, they smoke right outside the door and everyone who goes into the business has to walk through all of the smoke. He thinks this issue will need to be dealt with in the future.
Corkyís smoke-free since 1993
Troy Nolop purchased Corkyís in 1987 and went smoke-free in 1993 because of his personal views on smoking and concern for the health of his employees and children. He considers himself somewhat of a trend setter because in 1993 it was not a popular thing to do, and everyone told him not to do it.
Overall though, Nolop said his business has grown each year since going smoke-free. He thinks that businesses need to realize they will attract more non-smoking customers. He said businesses should embrace the new law, promote it, and draw in new people. Nolop also brought up the problem of people smoking right outside the front door. He says this is especially a problem in restaurants that have large ventilation systems because when the front door gets opened, the air from outside gets drawn in. He thinks smokers should be required to walk a certain distance from the front door to smoke. He believes compliance will go well though and people will state violations when they see them. He thinks people should accept it and work to promote it.
The last business owner I talked to owns a restaurant in Spring Grove. It opened recently and was smoke-free from the first day. The owner stated that when she presented the plan for the restaurant to the Economic Development Administration, she actually received applause for being smoke free. She also said that opening smoke-free gives them a different clientele than other restaurants. Numerous people have told her they come to the restaurant because it is 100% smoke-free. Additionally, she has never heard of any complaints about being smoke-free. She said people are respectful and just go outside. Her recommendation to other businesses that are just now going smoke-free is to "get the stink out". She says the stink from old smoke becomes noticeable when it is not covered by new smoke and even smokers notice it. The owner thinks compliance will go well and people will learn to adapt. In general, being smoke-free has brought in a different clientele to her business.
In summation from the interviews, I found that going smoke-free does not negatively impact restaurant business and that in some cases it increases profit. I hope this information will ease the anxiety of other business owners in Houston County. As for how things will go, we will have to wait and see. A new law is bound to bring up new concerns, but decreasing the communityís exposure to secondhand smoke is a huge step in the right direction for the populationís well-being.
Background Information
Bridget Kruger, Nursing Student ñ Houston County Public Health
UW ñ Madison
I am a senior nursing student doing a semester clinical at Houston County Public Health. I grew up in Kasson, Minnesota and graduated from Kasson-Mantorville High School in 2004. After graduation, I plan to get a job at Mayo Clinic in Rochester in one of the intensive care units. I would eventually like to get my Masterís Degree in Anesthesia and work as a Nurse Anesthetist in surgery. I have been around the health care field my entire life and knew at a young age that I wanted to go into healthcare. My mother is a nurse in surgery and works to identify lung cancer and other diseases so I know the damage smoking can do. It is my hope that smoking continues to decrease and someday we wonít have to worry about secondhand smoke and the complications it brings.
Caledonia Argus
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E-Mail: editor.argus@ecm-inc.com