WMBFNews.com | Myrtle Beach/Florence, SC | News, Weather, SportsRestaurants weigh in on new NC smoking ban

Restaurants weigh in on new NC smoking ban

By Meghan Miller - bio | email

LUMBERTON, NC (WMBF) - Jan. 2, 2010 marks a historic day for the Tarheel State -- the start of a smoke-free ban in all restaurants and bars.

In May 2009, North Carolina Gov. Beverly Perdue signed into action a statewide smoking ban that targeted poor air quality inside of bars and restaurants. Perdue and the North Carolina General Assembly also put the flame out on smoking in enclosed areas of hotels, motels and inns if food and drink are prepared in areas near smoking zones.

Should someone light up, they'll have to pay up. A $50 fine is given to anyone who breaks the new law.

While the issue may be unsettling for some who prefer a cigarette over a drink or dinner, one restaurant owner in Lumberton says he's welcoming the change because it could mean new business.

"My hope is by eliminating the smoking is that a lot of people who have not been coming in [to the restaurant] will be coming in," said Rob Redfearn, owner of Black Water Grille along West 3rd Street in Lumberton.

On a busy night, Redfearn says he estimates nearly 300 people file in and out of his dining room and bar. However, half of his clientele is smokers. He tries to divide the two types of customers by a giant wall that divides the main dining room and drinking area. A smoking fan also helps suck in the unwanted smoke, but for some, his efforts may not be enough.

"A lot of people don't come out to the bars because of the smoke," he said.

Now that North Carolina's smoking ban is in full swing, he believes it won't only bring in new faces, but it will cut down on cleaning and utilities, as well.

"It'll be easier to keep clean and I think we'll actually attract more customers," Redfearn added.

Just down the road on Elizabethtown Drive, the owner of Pier 41 Seafood says he recognized smoking was hurting his bottom line just months after opening his restaurant.

"I came in one Sunday and saw a line of people coming out of the restaurant because the service just wasn't quick enough," owner Steve Runkle remembered. "I had empty tables in the smoking section. Nobody wanted to sit in that section."

When business was leaving Runkle and his employees empty handed, the owner says he knew that's when it was time for a change. Not offering a smoking section in his restaurant had some customers hot-headed at first, but the food and environment kept them coming back for more.

"We have a lot of older clientele with respiratory problems and they really wrestled with the secondhand smoke," he said.

Ironically enough, Pier 41 is celebrating its third anniversary in the Lumberton area on the start of the smoking ban, and Runkle says he couldn't be happier about making his restaurant smoke free.

For more information on North Carolina's newly instated smoking ban, visit smokefree.nc.gov.

Copyright 2009 WMBF News. All rights reserved.