Bar owner worried about restaurant/bar smoking ban
MARQUETTE -- It's created a buzz across Michigan, including our Web site Thursday and Friday.
Michigan bars and restaurants will be smoke-free next spring. It's a decision that isn't sitting well for some, after the Michigan Senate passed a smoking ban on Thursday.
Michael and Sonja Stucko, owners of Stucko's Pub and Grill in Marquette, are worried about the impact on their business. Seventy percent of their customers smoke.
"We all do have a choice to go to places that allow smoking or not allow smoking," said Michael Stucco. "And now our choices are being removed from us, from selling products and consuming products that are perfectly legal to consume in Michigan."
The Stuckos are worried that people who smoke will stop going out to bars, meaning a cut in profits. And they're unsure of how it will impact their 16 employees.
"This will hurt our business," Michael said. "And the people who say this will not hurt our business are not willing to write checks for us."
An owner of Vango's, just across the street, says she saw a slight drop in bar traffic when they went smoke-free two years ago. But the restaurant did see a slight increase in the dining room.
"A lot of families come in now," said Michele Butler, "because before they didn't want to come in with the kids. They were concerned about the smoke, so from that perspective, I think it's been positive."
The Stuckos say only 20 percent of their business is food, so an increase of a few families won't help the bottom line.
Restaurants and bars might be forced to do what Vango's did two years ago; put a smoke butler outside the front door, so people can smoke outside. But on a day when the temperatures are in the teens, that could be a chilly endeavor.