The smoke will soon clear from bars and restaurants statewide, but some bar and restaurant managers say they're not too worried about the fallout from the new smoking ban.
On Nov. 7 Arizona voters passed Proposition 201, an initiative that bans smoking in most indoor public places, including bars and restaurants. It takes effect May 1.
Still, Logan Durfee, manager at RA Sushi Bar on Mill Avenue, said Tempe businesses may actually benefit from the ban.
Proposition 201 is essentially a statewide mirror of Tempe's existing ban, so it levels the playing field for bars here, Durfee said.
"I think Mill Avenue will grow again," he said.
When Tempe passed its smoking ban in 2002, Mill Avenue businesses adapted by ensuring adequate patio space for smokers, Durfee added.
Other bar and restaurant managers from Tempe and Phoenix said they don't expect the new law to drive away much business.
"I think people are just going to have to deal with it if it's the law," said Noah Busha, manager of Amsterdam in Phoenix. "There's nothing we can do about it for them."
The law allows smoking outdoors, and Amsterdam has a large patio to accommodate smokers outside, Busha said.
But Michael Smith, owner of Monroe's in downtown Phoenix, said the smoking ban would be detrimental to his blues club atmosphere.
"What's a blues club without a little smoke in it?" he said.
Smith said he might install a fog machine to mimic the smoky environment his customers are used to.
Monroe's doesn't have a patio, so creating a legal smoking environment for his customers will be costly, he said.
Smith said he would probably build a patio outside his underground restaurant.
The restaurant owner said he had considered building a patio even before the smoking ban was passed.
"The patio will just give us more access for our food, so that's not that big of a deal," he said. "I'm sure a lot of people will be doing that now."
Smith is also examining the legality of opening a separately ventilated smoking room next to his restaurant, he said.
Although he'd prefer no smoking ban, Smith said Proposition 201 creates a fairer business environment because the rules are consistent statewide.
"They should've done that in the beginning," he said. "They've screwed a lot of businesses by doing it city by city."
Reach the reporter at: jonathan.cooper@asu.edu.
