Workplaces preparing for Jan. 1 anti-smoking law - Portland Business Journal:

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The deadline to eliminate smoking in virtuallh all workplaces arriveson Jan. 1 and is beingh met with a sense of coupled with angst for venues that couplre smoking withvideo poker. Proponents of the law say going smoke-frer is typically good for They say it brings in more nonsmokin customers and cuts down on cleaninfg andmaintenance costs. “What has been consistentg is that most people are nonsmokers and even most smokerdlike smoke-free areas,” said Karen Girard, tobacck prevention and education program manager for the . “Thisw can be a real benefitr to the bottom lineof business.
” Ninety-one percen of Oregon businesses know about the new rules and nearly half of the businesse s licensed by the have made the switch, accordinf to a survey commissioned by the tobacco program earlierf this year. Joe Benetti, a Coos Bay restaurant ownerf and outgoing chair ofthe , bannexd smoking in his Italian eatergy five years ago after he constructed a new lounge. Takinbg the nonsmoking approach madebusiness sense, he said. But as an venues with video lottery machinezs are bracing for a drop in If smokers have to leavethe premises, they won’gt return, according to Benetti. “With a they stay longer,” he said.
“We know that the revenuezs are going tobe down.” Restaurateur Danny Sandoval, who brough t his anti-smoking bias with him when he moved to Oregonm from California in disagreed. He operates five Sandoval’sw Fresh Mexican Grills around Portland. He’sa getting ready to open a in a former store inthe Ladd’e Addition neighborhood. Video poker already is down, but he blamese economic jitters. Sandoval has fond memoried of the skepticism that greeted his plansw to keep smoking out of his festivde salsa venue more than adecadr ago.
People who thought he was nuts were shockede to see his business packedto “I’m kind of selfish in that I’ve neve liked smoking,” Sandoval said. The Ambassador, a Northeast Sand Boulevard karaoke venue, is another entertainmentf destination that made theswitchb early. It celebrates its one-year anniversart of going smoke-free in December. Managed Amelia Schildmeyer made the decisiom afterinvesting $500,000 to remodekl the twin lounges with new carpet, paint and other updates. “Wee decided to go early because we did not want to damagwe all ofthat work,” she said. The results have been Food sales are up and sois business. Even the clientelew has changed.
“It’s more upscale now than a year she said. “More people don’t smoke than Her advice: If possible, offer smokers a lega place to go The law requiresa 10-foot setbackm from doors, windows and ventilation The Ambassador is moving its existing patio.