Q-C bar among first to receive smoking ban violation notice

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By Kurt Allemeier and Fred Love | Wednesday, July 16, 2008 4:28 AM CDT | () comments

Smoke from a cigarette drifts into the air.(FILE PHOTO) Buy this Photo

Julie Lawrence is frustrated.

She says she is seeing some of her customers at the Firehouse Bar and Grill, 2006 Hickory Grove Road, Davenport, go to other bars that are still letting customers smoke. Meanwhile, she received a letter from the Iowa Department of Public Health saying her bar wasn’t in compliance with the state smoking ban that went into effect July 1.

“We thought we were doing everything correctly,” she said Tuesday.

The first notice of potential violation from the department is considered a step in the educational process, said Brent Saron, a community health consultant with the department.

Lawrence thought customers could smoke in the bar’s patio area, where no food or drink service was available. Not so, said the public health department. Smoking isn’t allowed on patios of bars and restaurants where food is prepared on the premises.

Lawrence put up no-smoking signs on the patio Tuesday morning after receiving the letter and contacting the Scott County Health Department.

Nearly three-quarters of all smoking ban violation notices sent out by the department since the ban took effect have gone to bars and restaurants.

Notices were also sent to three retail stores, a county fair association and two adult entertainment venues, Saron said. Another 15 notices have gone to eating and drinking establishments.

Seven complaints for violation of the smoking ban were filed in Scott County, but letters have not been sent to all of them.

The department sends an educational notice to a business after receiving public complaints that the business is not adhering to the smoking ban. The notices do not include citations or fines, which are issued by law enforcement officials after the department receives continued complaints.

Some Iowa bar owners say their businesses have taken a hit since the statewide smoking ban went into effect.

Carrie Krumm, owner of Champion’s Bar & Grill in Mason City, said liquor and beer sales have dropped, and she’s lost the business of a few regulars who smoke. But Krumm said the drop isn’t threatening to put her out of business. She said her patrons have largely adapted to the change.

“Only one time someone walked in with a cigarette, and we just reminded them, and they put it out,” she said. Her patrons go outside if they want to smoke, which could be problematic during the winter when the weather gets cold.

A group of bar and restaurant owners have filed a lawsuit, claiming the ban places unconstitutional burdens on business owners. The group has asked the court to put a temporary halt on the ban until it can rule in the case.

Brian Froehlich, owner of Fro’s Pub ’n Grub in Wilton and a plaintiff in the case, said he noticed a slowdown in business as soon as the ban took effect. Froehlich said he had only a handful of customers in his establishment during his July 1 happy hour, when ordinarily he would have 15 to 30 patrons.

“We open our doors every day, and we worry,” he said.

The public health department also sent Froehlich a first notice of potential violation, Saron said.

George Eichhorn, attorney for the plaintiffs in the lawsuit and a former state representative, said a hearing will be held Aug. 1 in Polk County District Court to determine whether the court should issue a temporary injunction on the ban.

Eichhorn said he intends to prove that the ban will do serious harm to his clients’ businesses if it’s allowed to continue until the court rules on its constitutionality.

“I think we have a situation where a statute doesn’t work the way the people thought it was going to, and it basically discriminates against the small businessperson,” he said.

The Iowa Attorney General’s Office will argue during the hearing that a temporary injunction on the ban is unnecessary, spokesman Bob Brammer said.

“We are looking forward to the hearing as an opportunity to make our case and defend the statute and to explain why a temporary injunction is not appropriate or justified,” Brammer said.

Kurt Allemeier can be contacted at (563) 383-2360 or kallemeier@qctimes.com. Fred Love can be contacted at (515) 243-0138 or fred.love@lee.net.