Local restaurants go smoke free

From staff reports
Both Glen Arbor and Empire now boast a locale where you can have a drink at the bar (even in January) without smelling like a Marlboro chimney the next morning. The Western Avenue Grill’s manager Bill Skolnik banned smoking in the whole bar on April 1. The few customers who complained about it were back at the bar (without cancer sticks in their mouths) within a couple days, Bill says, offering “it ought to be banned everywhere.”

Just up the road, Boone Docks has banned smoking in its vast family dining area, though it still allows it at the bar. Over in Empire, the Friendly Tavern banned smoking entirely at the beginning of last summer. And at the Village Inn (same ownership as the Friendly), manager Brian Reed confirms that his employees would actually prefer a smoking ban. One potential employee actually offered to work a couple shifts a week if it weren’t for the smoking haze. But, Brian admits, the VI will likely wait for a statewide ban, which recently failed despite the state Senate approving anti-smoking legislation on May 8.