SMOKED OUT

Culpeper-area restaurants and bars will join others across Virginia on Tuesday when new, stricter rules regulating smoking take effect.

The General Assembly earlier this year passed an amendment to the state’s 1990 Indoor Clean Air Act. The amendment prohibits smoking in restaurants and bars except in separately ventilated rooms that are structurally separated from the rest of the building. The new law also bans smoking in other places including public school buses and polling places.

Private clubs, tobacco retail stores and warehouses, prisons, designated smoking areas in government offices and privately rented rooms in restaurants are exempt.

To highlight the new legislation, Gov. Tim Kaine on Tuesday afternoon will visit smoke-free restaurants and bars in Charlottesville, Alexandria and Richmond starting at 11 a.m.

But for many local establishments, owners and managers say the new rules will essentially translate into a de facto ban on indoor smoking. This weekend, the Star-Exponent visited a few local establishments to inquire about what changes are on the horizon. Here’s what they had to say.

Diner owner: ‘I respect everyone’s decision’
Local smokers will soon find a refuge at the Culpeper Diner on Main Street, where owner Luis Galarza said he plans to allow smoking to continue by taking the necessary steps to comply with the new law.

Galarza, who also owns the 4C’s restaurant next door, a non-smoking establishment, said he considered modifying the Diner to comply with the ban, but found the cost — an estimated $70,000 — too high. So instead, he plans to reorganize his business, combining both establishments under a new name: Culpeper Diner and the 4Cs Restaurant. The buildings are structurally separate, have separate ventilation and public entrances. So the 4Cs side of the business will remain smoke-free, while smoking will continue at the Diner. Each eatery can seat about 100 people.

However as of Saturday, Galarza said the required permits and paperwork needed under the new law are still pending. So unless the approval comes before Tuesday, smokers will be out of luck at the Culpeper Diner, at least for a little while. Regardless, Galarza said he hopes customers will continue to patronize both places.

“We’re going to see how it goes,” he said. “I used to smoke when I was young. I respect everyone’s decision.”

At another popular downtown spot, the Pub at Hazel River Inn, be prepared to step outside if you want to enjoy a cigarette with your drink.

“I think it’s a good thing,” said Karen Stogbuchner, who along with husband Peter, has owned the Pub for nearly 10 years.

Due to the age and design of the historic building — parts of which predate the Civil War — Stogbucnher said installing a separate ventilation system isn’t possible.

A former smoker who quit a few months ago this year, Stogbuchner said she doesn’t expect a substantial defection of customers to someplace else. She said Pub patrons will still be allowed to smoke outside on the upstairs patio of the Hazel River Inn and on the deck out back. Stogbuchner said plans to possibly build a new smoking room in the basement space next door to the Pub are under
consideration.

Law will ‘level the field’
“We’re going to be like everybody else,” Pepper’s co-owner James Atkins said when asked how the restaurant planned to adapt to the new law.

Atkins said they considered modifications to the recently remodeled restaurant to allow patrons to continue to smoke at the bar, but said they were unable to find a solution that would accommodate another public entrance to the facility, which is located south of downtown in the Best Western Hotel on Bus. 29.

However, Atkins said they plan to utilize outdoor seating near the hotel’s pool during the warmer months. He also said they’re also considering installing an awning and benches out front for smoking customers.

Reflecting on the changes, Atkins said the law will likely have another, positive and perhaps unanticipated effect. When it comes to attracting customers, “I think everybody’s going to be on a level playing field,” he said.

At Ruby Tuesday’s, general manager Danni Haislip said her restaurant will also be non-smoking effective Tuesday. She said a request to modify the building to comply with the new standards was rejected by the company at the corporate level.

Haislip said out-of-state visitors are often shocked to discover many Virginia restaurants still permit smoking. But she said some find the news a welcome surprise.

“Our smoking section stays full,” she said.

At Glory Days, a sign posted on the front door Friday afternoon notified customers of the upcoming change in bold letters. Inside, manager Steve Cercone said smoking will still be permitted on the patio, where there are about eight tables, but inside will be smoke-free.

BW3 manager: They’ll be back
Michael Hoy, general manger of Culpeper’s Buffalo Wild Wings, said he’s looking forward to the change. He also expressed confidence that any initial backlash from die hard smokers, will drift away.
Customers who wish to smoke at the sports-themed eatery may use the patio, which can seat about 60.

“We’re looking forward to it,” he said, adding that he knows many families don’t eat out because they can’t stand smoky restaurants.

Hoy recalled how a Richmond-area BW3s went smoke free earlier this year, several months ahead of the law. He said the manager there reported that a handful of regulars grumbled and complained, saying they would not be back. But within a few weeks, nearly all of them had returned.

Forced to either change their habits or stay home, Hoy said he believes people will adapt and move on.

“What are you going to do?” he asked.