Comment Print Email

December 01. 2009 6:00AM

Many bar and restaurant owners in Brandon and Valley Springs are planning ahead for a time when smoking is banned in public buildings in South Dakota. But a few are taking a “business as usual” stance until the fate of the smoking ban is decided for sure.

Last month, Circuit Judge Kathleen Trandahl ruled that opponents of the state’s smoking ban secured enough good signatures in a petition drive to put the issue before voters next November. Barring a successful appeal, the issue will be on the November 2010 ballot.

The Legislature in March passed a nearly comprehensive ban on smoking in public places, and Gov. Mike Rounds signed it into law. It was supposed to have gone into effect in July, but implementation has been delayed as opponents mounted a referendum petition drive.

On Nov. 20, Attorney General Marty Jackley and Secretary of State Chris Nelson said in a news release that the state will not initiate an appeal. The American Cancer Society said the same on Nov. 19.

Trandahl’s ruling will allow South Dakota voters to decide the issue, and that is fine with Brandon Steakhouse owner Bob Miller.

“I think it should be put to a vote,” he said. “Let the people decide and not the government.”

Valley Corner Bar owner Shelly Renken agreed. “It should go to a vote,” she said. “I’m kind of flip flopping on whether it will (pass) or not, I don’t know. But at least everybody will have a chance to express their own opinions.”

She’s hedging her bets, though, and currently is building an outdoor smoking patio next to her bar. Even if the ban doesn’t pass next year, she thinks it’s just a matter of time before a ban does go through.

“I’m sure everybody’s getting kind of ready,” she said.

Cory DeVille, owner of The Double D Saloon in Brandon, built a patio onto the south side of his establishment in the summer of 2008, but he plans to go one step further. “We are adding a smoking section to the south of the building this coming spring,” he said. “It will be part of the beer garden. We’re preparing for the probably inevitable.”

Bottoms Up in Corson has had an outdoor patio for many years but still allows smoking inside. That would have to change if the 2010 vote upholds the ban, owner Troy Novak said, but it wouldn’t affect his business much as people got used to going outside to smoke.

“When it does take effect, we’ll be ahead of the game,” he said.

Mike Jorgensen, owner of the Dizzy Duck in Garretson, hasn’t made any plans for a patio. He said he knows of states that don’t allow smoking patios, so he will wait until the issue is settled until deciding what to do next. Until then, smokers can light up in his bar.

Miller said his steakhouse is in a location that won’t allow a patio. “I don’t have any room,” he said. “So (the steakhouse) would just be nonsmoking completely.”

Several establishments already have gone that route. 212-The Boiling Point in Brandon has been nonsmoking since it opened in June 2008. Tailgator’s Sports Bar and Grill in Brandon went smoke free earlier this year, and co-owner Barb Strom doesn’t regret that decision.

“It’s been wonderful in the fact that our customer base has increased,” she said. “Families like to dine where there isn’t smoke around their children. And our employees and staff don’t have to breathe in smoke all the time. That’s very nice.”

Even if the 2010 vote does not uphold the ban, Strom said Tailgator’s would remain smoke-free.
“We wouldn’t go back,” she said. “Never.”

Steakhouse owner Miller said he will abide by whatever the voters decide. “I’m fine on what the people decide on and not what the government says all the time,” he said.

Argus Leader reporter Peter Harriman contributed to this report.