By Amy Hillenburg, Hoosier Times
MORGAN COUNTY - A few restaurant owners in Morgan County haven't been much affected by the countywide smoking ban in restaurants and government buildings issued last year.
Ruby's Diner in Martinsville, Trigger's Big Corral in Morgantown and Bynum's Steakhouse in Martinsville all have separate smoking areas with their own heating and air systems.
It cost Ruby Pruitt, owner of Ruby's Diner, only about $400 to put in a wall and door for her separate dining area. It was approved before the ordinance was passed. But she said most nonsmokers during breakfast and lunch don't want to be separated from their friends and neighbors who smoke and tend to sit in the smoking area with them.
Some owners, though, are still watching their smoking customers go across county lines to eat. They wonder and hope that summer business will make up that loss in revenue.
Buck Busick, of Busick's Family Restaurant in Martinsville, said he sold his eatery to his son Kyle, who reopened it three years ago. Busick noted that the ban has had little or no effect on their profit margin. The business had a healthy share of smokers who came for breakfast and lunch. And many of the employees who smoke are now forced outside to do it. He said the smoking ban has cut his share of those customers by about 10 percent. "We would keep about 75 percent of those profits," Buck Busick said.
However, he believes most people are willing to go out for their cigarettes, and it has made bussing tables much easier. He said more people have come in to eat because there is no smoking and say they are happy about it.
Busick's owners didn't go to any great lengths to make a separate area for smokers because, as Buck Busick said, "It's a very expensive proposition to put in a separate furnace and air conditioner."
Some customers go elsewhere
Squealers Award Winning Barbecue owner Jeff Yates has been hit twice with a smoking ban - once in Morgan County and now at his restaurant in Marion County. He wishes all counties were forced to comply with a smoking ban.
As it is, he sees many of his construction workers who came in at lunch to eat at the bar and smoke in the Mooresville restaurant going to Hendricks County eateries. Those at his place in Indianapolis go next door to Boone County.
Yates said at first about 10 percent of smokers who came in refused to go outside and smoke. He keeps receptacles outside for them and a place to sit. Mooresville Squealer's manager Rachelle Ruble said people tell her they are glad the restaurant is clear of cigarette smoke.
Yates bemoaned the $3,000 a week loss in profits at his Indy restaurant, but believes that business will eventually come back over the long haul. He said the general public is beginning to go along with the nonsmoking edict.
"We make a profit from time to time, but there is a minimal profit margin in the restaurant business right now," Yates said.
Smaller restaurants like Kathy's Cafe in Morgantown and Mr. Gatti's Pizza in Martinsville are staying on an even keel - despite the smoking ban.
Manager Mike Smith of Kathy's Cafe said the profit margin hasn't been great since the attacks of Sept. 11, 2001. But he still sees his regular smokers come in to eat and go outside to light up. Ditto for Mr. Gatti's. The manager said customers have adjusted well to the smoking ban. The only trouble he's had is with people who come from out of town who want to smoke.
Standing for his rights
One restaurant owner in Martinsville isn't going down so easily. Bob Williams of Charley's Drive-In is going to court in Danville next month for allowing smokers to light up. He was issued a citation for a fine and refused to pay it. Customers are served food inside, but they can eat outside if they choose. Williams said about 98 percent of his regular customers are smokers.
He believes restaurant owners have the right to decide how to run their own business. "If I want to allow people to smoke in my place, that's my business. Smoking is legal in Indiana," Williams said. "Customers see the sign on the door, and if they don't want to eat with smokers, they don't have to come in. We respect their choice."
He also wants to know why county commissioners gladly take in the cigarette tax but ban smoking in restaurants and government buildings. Williams made a vow, "I will continue to accept smoking in my restaurant until a judge with authority tells me I can't."