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—Story and photos by Rachel Kytonen, Greg Hunt and Jon Tatting
Many people including antismoking advocates are celebrating the state-wide smoking ban, which became official this month with Gov. Tim Pawlenty’s signature.
Others, however, are not happy at all with the so-called “Freedom to Breathe Act,” arguing its slogan reflects a contradiction with regard to infringement of one’s freedom to choose, freedom to conduct business.
Beginning Oct. 1, smoking will be illegal in bars, restaurants, bowling alleys, VFWs, American Legions, country club lounges and other establishments.
Talking with a variety of Isanti County establishments, — where smoking is permitted — it’s clear the ban is sparking many emotions and creative thinking toward offering something new and different for customers.
Isanti VFW
Down at the Isanti VFW, club manager Dorothy Star is trying to remain optimistic and feels business may increase as more non-smoking customers come in, but she realizes most customers enjoy smoking with their drinks.
Pictured: Isanti VFW Club Manager Dorothy Star feels the smoking ban will hurt business.
“The smoking ban may help us or hurt us; it could go either way,” Star said. “But regarding this business, as a rule, most people who drink, smoke. A bar’s a bar.”
Isanti VFW bartender Chrissy Tholen said non-smokers will appreciate the smoking ban but feels it will affect business “big time.”
“I think it sucks,” added VFW kitchen manager Lisa Lewis. “There are a lot of non-smoking bars to go to, and we have one right here in Isanti. Why should we be punished?”
Approximately 75 percent of customers smoke at the Isanti VFW. Star said when the Legislature first starting looking at the smoking ban she hoped it wouldn’t include private clubs.
“I’m very disappointed they didn’t leave private clubs to make that decision for themselves,” Star said. “We’re having a hard time anyway.”
The Isanti VFW doesn’t offer a non-smoking section, and Star admits non-smoking customers at times do complain about the smoke.
In response to the ban, Star said she is working on revamping the kitchen to offer more homemade meals, hoping to increase food sales once the smoking ban takes effect.
The Isanti VFW further offers a fenced-in area where smoking will still be permitted under the smoking ban, and since it’s a fenced-in area, Star said customers may bring their alcoholic drinks out there with them.
VFW customer reactions
Isanti VFW customers gathered around the bar on Monday around 4:30 p.m. were pretty unanimous with their opinions — not agreeing with the smoking ban.
Some felt the smoking ban should be a decision left up to private clubs and business owners and feared government is becoming too controlling. Some said they’ll stop in at the Isanti VFW, but will probably only have a quick drink and leave.
“I don’t think the government has any business intruding on a private business,” said Bill Vick of Isanti. “Once this door is open, what’s next? Are we going to have to wear bicycle helmets while sitting on a bar stool?
Brenda Bierbrauer of Isanti said she was a smoker for 35 years, but has now quit. She feels the smoking ban is very unfair and feels if non-smokers don’t like the smoke they can go to another establishment.
Tammy Wielgosz of Isanti said the decision to ban smoking should have been left up to private business owners. She said she enjoys having a smoke with a drink after work.
“I really believe privately owned business owners should have the right to choose whether or not they allow smoking in their establishment,” Wielgosz said. “If the government wants us to quit smoking, they should give us an avenue to help us try to quit. Trying to quit smoking is very spendy.”
Some Isanti VFW customers really felt the government is infringing on their freedoms.
“I feel like it’s turning into a communist America,” said Walter Lamountain of Isanti. “Yes, smoking is a filthy and dirty habit, and bad for the environment and our health, but when the government steps in and takes away our freedom, it’s bad. I’ll still stop in and have a drink, but I’ll leave much sooner.”
Brenda Strassburg of Isanti said elements such as socializing will be missed if people don’t stay out as longer.
“I think the smoking ban will definitely hurt business and it will change the way I go out,” Strassburg said. “I think we’ll lose out on socializing and we’ll lose out on pull tab sales that help benefit the community. I think this has taken our rights away as far as I’m concerned.”
Pine Brook Inn
Meanwhile, Pine Brook Inn owner Theresa Gonia said she feels the smoking ban may affect business at first, but then hopes it will settle down.
“I think the smoking ban will initially affect us, but we are fortunate our business is more food sales and our regular customers prefer non-smoking,” Gonia said.
Pine Brook Inn, located at the intersection of Hwy. 95 and Hwy. 47, offers a non-smoking section, however, Gonia said non-smoking customers don’t appreciate having to walk through the smoking section to get to the non-smoking section.
“For everyone’s health it’s probably best to implement the smoking ban, but at the same time I feel the government is trying to rule us too much,” Gonia said.
Gonia and her husband Todd took ownership of Pine Brook Inn in August 2006. She said they aren’t planning any immediate changes to their business as a result of the smoking ban.
Hi-Way Inn
The Hi-Way Inn, a restaurant & bar on Hwy. 95 on the western border of Isanti County, was essentially already set up for a smoking ban with a backyard patio adjacent to its horseshoe pits.
Neal Paulson, a bartender there for four years, doesn’t have too gloomy of an outlook regarding the smoking ban.
“I don’t agree with it, but as long as everybody is on the same keel – as long as all establishments have to go along with it – then that’s the main thing,” said Paulson. “
We have facilities outside already, and people have been smoking out there for a long time. But like anything new, maybe when the ban first starts people will not want to come here or to another bar. But sitting at home gets old after awhile, so they will come back.
Cambridge American Legion rolls with the ban
The Cambridge American Legion Club has always been a smoker-friendly atmosphere as it serves cocktails, hosts functions and offers gaming. The smoking ban has caught Club members in a state of flux.
Explained gambling manager Frank Holmgren, “We finally paid off the building a while back, and we wanted to do some remodeling. Then business dropped off because of the .08 DWI law ...
“Now, we will probably just do some cosmetic stuff with carpeting and so on because we wouldn’t want to take out a big loan, because that’s a lot of stir sticks. We’re really apprehensive about the smoking ban; we just don’t know what’s going to happen. Maybe it will all work out. I don’t think so, but maybe it will.”
He added, “We’re kind of disappointed in (Gov.) Pawlenty because he said he was going to veto anything that didn’t give the veterans organizations a break. Then he must have said the hell with us. It probably looked like it was going to go through, whether he vetoed it or not.”
Impact on gambling, community support
Civic clubs such as the American Legion operate gambling games to 1) pay off the city taxes for the establishment and 2) donate to many school functions, youth organizations and other causes. What impact could occur on all that fund donating if the clientele base is diminished with the ban?
“If you can’t bring in the money, you can’t give it out,” said Holmgren. “Other than paying the employee wages and the taxes, everything we make in gambling goes back to scholarships, baseball, fireworks — you name it. Our first priority will have to be pay the taxes. I would hate to see our fund flow shut off to those other causes.”
Added Rosie Braun, the Legion Auxiliary gambling manager, “Non-smokers are either going to be in here, or not. I feel sorry for owners of private clubs who have all their money tied up in the place. But for us, it will probably mean a lot less money going to community programs from us.”
The Cambridge American Legion Club, unlike privately-owned bars, is owned by 500-some Legion members– citizens who served overseas to protect the freedoms in this country – along with half the building owned by the 300-plus members of the Legion Auxiliary.
Give vets a break
“Realistically, this place is owned by all veterans. We can’t sell it without the okay of the veterans. I think the state should have left the veterans alone on this ban. When the veterans went off to fight, the government wasn’t telling them they couldn’t have a cigarette. Matter of fact, they packed cigarettes in ‘C’ rations,” said Holmgren.
Holmgren said after the Hennepin County smoking ban began, the Bloomington Legion Post, which had just taken on huge loans to pay off a remodeling project, ended up selling its building. In Buffalo, the Legion Post just added more parking spaces to satisfy a new city ordinance. Now will it have to take away parking spots to put up a smoking patio, thereby going against the parking ordinance, wondered Holmgren?
“A lot of Legion clubs around the state, us included, are located sidewalk-to-alley in towns. There just isn’t any place for a smoking patio or smoking room to be added,” he said. “So people are going to go outside for a smoke or two. They can’t carry their beers with them outside in this city, so – what? – we’re going to have all these unattended beers sitting around on tables? How’s that going to work? And if non-smoking bars are so great, why aren’t they already in business and making profits?”
Cambridge downtown businesses share mixed reviews
For Ron Nelson, the smoking ban will likely add more stress to his staff and the city in general since sidewalks and streets may likely replace ashtrays for disposing of cigarette butts.
Nelson owns Sidelines Sports Grill, 138 2nd Ave. SE, in downtown Cambridge.
He noted the smoking ban will require his staff to be more watchful over smokers wanting to bring their drinks outside — an entry/re-entry routine that could be very demanding in a single day.
“Everyone will be carded every time they re-enter,” said Nelson, noting Sidelines commonly hosts around 300 people at the bar on Friday and Saturday nights (most between the age 21-25 crowd).
“We may need to card people four to five times a night. This creates pressure on staff and concern over keeping the streets clean of cigarette butts.
“This will put a lot more stress on me, my employees and the police department,” added Nelson of multiple carding of re-entries and keeping the streets safe.
Overall, Nelson is fine with the state smoking ban, since it’s impacting establishments statewide rather than by city or county — where people could easily jump to other towns to smoke inside.
The Sidelines owner further believes he will not lose business — though the first three months may be a difficult time, he points out — and has embraced a positive outlook. As of now, the sports bar facility has a large non-smoking room, which may generate even more business from non-smokers who desire small private parties, groom’s parties and banquets.
“I think the restaurant business will increase, but the alcohol business will decrease in the first quarter. But people will get used to it.
“But my opinion doesn’t matter; you can’t change the state,” added Nelson of the ban decision. “You must have a positive outlook; you just gotta go with it and come up with new ideas.”
However, Nelson is not necessarily OK with the ban either. He and some staff believe the state should have allowed businesses to delegate specific smoking rooms complete with walls, doors and a ventilation system, as opposed to an all-out ban.
Nelson encourages the city or even the chamber of commerce to work with local businesses on new alternatives — such as outside tables with ashtrays and keeping streets clean of butts.
Cambridge Bar & Grill
“I think it will hurt a little, but over time (business) will pick back up. It will take time,” said Cambridge Bar and Grill server Gail Herold.
Added CBG co-owner Peggy Davis of the smoking ban, “It’s taking your rights away.”
Patrick Ryan, a regular customer at the bar and grill, made his point by asking Herold if she knew ahead of time that smoking was allowed in the bar before she was hired. She answered in the affirmative. 
Pictured: Patrick Ryan, a regular customer at Cambridge Bar & Grill
“I think (the ban) is really messed up,“ Ryan said. “If you’re going to be a bartender or cocktail waitress, there’s going to be smoke there. If you don’t like smoke, don’t go to that work environment.
“When I go to a restaurant, I go to a non-smoking restaurant. I smoke here because it’s a bar.”
However, a customer sitting a few seats down from Ryan emphasized the ban could not have come soon enough. Asked if the ban was a good idea, August Bellack of Braham responded, “You betcha.
“Smoking kills people. I honestly don’t think people should smoke. The tighter they make it the better I’ll feel. Smoking killed my wife, and she was only 53 years old. With younger kids smoking, you can see these poor kids don’t know what they’re getting into. I used to smoke, myself; it’s hard to quit. I’m 30 years smoke-free, and I wouldn’t go back. I hope the whole world would quit,” Bellack added.
Said a smoking customer at the bar and grill, “If the state bans smoking in bars and everywhere else, then why not outlaw it altogether? They want revenue for the state. Smoking does cause a lot of problems, but so do a lot of other things.”
Loren Davis and wife Peggy have owned the Cambridge Bar and Grill, 216 S. Main St., for seven years.
“Where do you draw the line of freedom of choice to smoke or not smoke for people. It’s freedom of choice,” Loren said.
Yet the law is the law, and the ban does create a level playing field among all state-wide establishments, he said. “Will it hurt business? Sure it will. It will certainly put a crimp on charitable gambling funds,” with less people doing pull-tabs, he explained.
Infringement on rights
While many people don’t smoke on a regular basis, they may very well smoke when they drink, said Loren, referring in part to his clientele. “People like to go out on Friday and Saturday nights to smoke and drink, go out dancing and have a good time. It’s part of their time out, recreation.”
Perhaps Davis’ biggest concern over the smoking ban is the “government’s infringement on your right to choose,” referring to business owners, customers and individuals.
“What’s next?” Davis asked. “Prohibition?”
Davis further wonders how the city is going handle its building codes, as some businesses may desire outdoor patios in the front and/or back of their establishment as a way to cater to smoking customers.
The Cambridge Bar and Grill, Davis noted, is considering a sheltered outdoor seating section where people can smoke in the back of the business. But will the business be able to expand and install outdoor heaters in the winter time?
“We remodeled two years ago, but we wouldn’t do that now” because of the ban and its possible impacts on revenue, Davis said.
What about lowering liquor license fees to compensate for projected loss of revenue due to the ban? What about job retention and other impacts on the community” again asked Davis.
He added he may have to open the bar and grill on Sundays for financial reasons.
“It shouldn’t be the Freedom to Breath Act,” it should be the freedom to run businesses out of business act,” Davis concluded of the smoking ban.
Herman’s Bakery chose to go smoke-free
When the big oven broke down a few years back at Herman’s Bakery, the Cambridge business also pursued a remodeling project complete with a fresh coat of paint.
It was also a time the downtown bakery took a gamble by offering an exclusive, smoke-free environment.
“To me, I look back on it as the best move we ever made,” said owner Lois Oestreich. “Before, some customers requested us to go non-smoking, so I always had that in the back of my mind as a family-oriented business.”
Though a few smoking customers didn’t come back, the positives have far outweighed the negatives as Lois believes Herman’s has since gained even more customers.
“We have more kids, families and older people. Customer feedback has been extremely positive. It was a win-win proposition for us,” Lois said.
In fact, some customers before had told Herman’s they could taste it (the smoke) in their product. “That caught my ear,” said Lois, noting she has regained those customers who now enjoy the many selections of fresh bakery goods.
Though going smoke-free was her choice, Lois has a problem with government say in issues such as the recent state-wide smoking ban.
“I don’t think the government should dictate how we run our businesses. It should be a free America,” she said.
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