No smoking at Bona Terra
A proposal last week by state Sen. Stewart Greenleaf, R-Montgomery County, would expand the state's ban on workplace smoking to include bars and restaurants.
Sharpsburg's Bona Terra has been nonsmoking since it opened last year. Although manager Mark Towers is a smoker, he said making the restaurant smoke-free was a no-brainer.
"It ruins the palate," Towers said.
Named the region's best new restaurant by Pittsburgh Magazine, Bona Terra has just 13 tables in two small, adjoining rooms, making it impossible to create separate smoking and nonsmoking sections.
"I do have guests who step outside," Towers said. "I think most people just understand that when you dine, you just don't smoke."
Going out for a beer and some chicken wings, however, is another matter, Towers said. Allowing smoking in bars would be fine with him.
Seven other states -- California, Delaware, New York, Maine, Connecticut, Massachusetts and Rhode Island -- ban smoking in bars and restaurants. But Towers predicted the ban would be a harder sell in this region.
"Pittsburgh is such a smoking town, it's crazy," he said. "I've never seen so many people smoke."
Studies show about 24.5 percent of Pennsylvania adults smoke, according to the state Health Department. Pittsburgh made national headlines last year when a survey showed more pregnant women smoke here than in any other American city.
The owner of the smoke-free Power City Grill in Springdale cheerfully shrugs off friends who warn that expanding with a nonsmoking bar will be disastrous for her business.
"Everybody says, 'You have to have smoking!'" Gloria Moxie said. "I say, 'No, you don't. You'll be surprised how many people will come."
Moxie doesn't mind Greenleaf's proposal.
The proposal met with howls from smokers and some bar and restaurant owners this week, including Michael Olshansky, chef at Cooper Station in Jefferson Township. Like many restaurants, Cooper Station is divided into a nonsmoking dining room and a smoking dining room/bar.
"I believe that's more than fair," he said. "I think a designated area for smoking is reasonable."
Joe Kolek, who owns the Anchor Inn in Harrison, agreed. He said customers don't mind the smoking/nonsmoking seating arrangement and added that modern ventilation equipment can keep nonsmoking diners content.
"I think it's adequate if you have separate rooms and good ventilation," he said.
But smoking is more than a comfort issue, said Nancy Joyce of Tobacco Free Allegheny, the agency that uses Pennsylvania's portion of the tobacco lawsuit settlement money to conduct tobacco education and prevention programs in the region.
The issue also is the second-hand smoke inhaled by wait staff and other restaurant employees.
"The nonsmokers who think they're doing great with their own health are actually inhaling all that smoke and all those chemicals," Joyce said.
Moxie said health was a major factor in her decision to keep her restaurant smoke-free. Moxie is an ex-smoker who quit a 2-pack-per-day habit 17 years ago. She now can't tolerate cigarettes, Moxie said.
Plus, Moxie and other restaurant professionals said food tastes better in a smoke-free dining room.
Joseph Restano, who owns The Oaks in Upper Burrell, complained a smoking ban would put bars out of business.
"A customer comes in and wants to relax with a drink and a smoke," he said. "Leave the little man alone."
Olshansky, who is a smoker and a self-described "almost vegetarian," suggested there are worse health hazards the Legislature should tackle first. He suggested banning hamburgers, industrial pollution and talking on cell phones while driving.
"I just think it's wrong that people can't smoke," he said.
Additional Information:
On the Web
For a list of smoke-free restaurants in the Valley and in Pennsylvania, visit http://nosmokedining.org
