Smoke-Free Establishments

[fotoman311]

GP Sports bar at the Amway Grand has signs posted that they will be going smoke free as of May 1st. To my knowledge, they will be the first smoke free sports bar in Grand Rapids.

They had a pretty reasonable beer selection (I had an Arcadia Double IPA, plus a special on Magic Hat #9 for $2.50) and lots of TVs. When they are smoke free they will be one of the first places on my list for watching sports that I don't get at home.

[egrguy]

I love the smoke free environment. You don't notice it until you encounter it again. Washington state has a no smoking policy (Oregon started theirs 01/01/09). Coming back to GR for work and going to Uccello's its a shock to sit in the envelope of smoke in the smoking section. Both OR and WA have adapted well to the ban although I acknowledge the west coast as a bit of a different scenario.

I, like fotoman would be the first in line to support a smoke free establishment. The restaurant/sports bar atmosphere is slanted towards accomadating to more of a family atmosphere which Im all for.

I certainly keep tabs on Michigan's progress on this policy.

[gvsusean]

I love the smoke free environment. You don't notice it until you encounter it again. Washington state has a no smoking policy (Oregon started theirs 01/01/09). Coming back to GR for work and going to Uccello's its a shock to sit in the envelope of smoke in the smoking section. Both OR and WA have adapted well to the ban although I acknowledge the west coast as a bit of a different scenario.

I, like fotoman would be the first in line to support a smoke free establishment. The restaurant/sports bar atmosphere is slanted towards accomadating to more of a family atmosphere which Im all for.

I certainly keep tabs on Michigan's progress on this policy.

[Explorer55]

Colorado has been "smoke-free" statewide for nearly 2 years now and I love it! All in all, I don't think restaurants or bars have suffered all that much. A few dive bars lost some customers/revenues at first (and maybe still) and the downturn of the economy affected most, if not all restaurant/bars, but I don't think there's any ground swell for complete overturn of the ban. There are still some "cigar bars" where folks can smoke and I have to say there are some strange "cigar-bars" (one I know of is a coffee house for punk teenagers and a few college kids), but I haven't noticed too many "creative" attempts to get around the ban. Since I've never smoked and never thought about picking up a cigarette EVER, I have to say I laugh at the smokers shivering outside on a cold Colorado day/night sucking on their tobacco pacifiers.

And I notice the difference when I visit GR. Really, if the "wild west" state of Colorado can go "smoke-free", why can't Michigan?