Fat Tony's goes smoke-free, for at least one day

Like a growing number of restaurant owners in the Wilmington area, Eric Rylander grapples with whether to snuff out smoking in his businesses.

The tricky part for him is balancing between appeasing nonsmoking customers and keeping smoking patrons from fuming.

“I get a lot of feedback from my nonsmoking customers,” said Rylander, who owns Fat Tony’s Italian Pub, which has locations in downtown Wilmington and on Racine Drive. “These are delicate economic times, and I don’t want to send a mixed message to my loyal smoking customers. I’ve got some good customers who are important to me.”

Rylander is holding a test run of sorts Thursday when both locations go smoke-free for the day to gauge how his customers react.

Nonsmokers will be able to sit in the bar areas without fretting if someone will light up near them, and smokers will get free slices of homemade cheesecake with their meals as a consolation.

The day was scheduled for Thursday in conjunction with the annual Great American Smokeout, a national promotion conceived by the American Cancer Society to try and get people to stop smoking for the day.

Representatives from area health departments and Wilmington’s Coastal Horizons Center plan to be at the downtown Fat Tony’s location noon-2 p.m. with information for those trying to quit.

Erin Morrissette, tobacco prevention educator with the New Hanover County Health Department, said she was encouraged Rylander and other restaurant owners were considering smoke-free policies, especially because North Carolina so far has not passed smoking ban legislation like other states.

“They’re doing it all on their own without being mandated by state law. I think that’s even more impressive,” she said.

Rylander said having a uniform, statewide law actually would make the decision easier for him because then he wouldn’t have to worry about losing smokers’ business to other establishments.

After Thursday’s event, Rylander plans to convert to smoke-free hours for lunch until 3 p.m. at both locations.

Beyond that, he’s not as certain.

“Maybe I can ease into this,” he said. “I do need to be careful, especially right now when fewer people are going out to eat.”

Twenty-nine states ban smoking in workplaces, restaurants or bars. And other states have either partial bans – like Georgia, which prohibits smoking if minors are allowed in the establishments – or localized bans in cities and counties.

North Carolina’s last attempt at smoking bans in 2007 failed when House members narrowly blocked a proposal to let local governments decide if workplace bans were warranted.

The legislature this year did ban smoking near entrances of state-owned buildings.

About 180 New Hanover County businesses are included in a smoke-free dining guide maintained by the county health department. They range from new chain restaurants at Mayfaire Town Center to old-school diners like Whitey’s Restaurant, which has been touting its smoke-free status on its marquee.

At least another 40 establishments in Brunswick County and 66 in Pender County are smoke-free.

“We have a lot of little mom-and-pop kind of places. Usually with them, they’re a little more hesitant,” said Patricia Flake, health promotion coordinator for the Pender County Health Department.

Flake, who talks to the county’s restaurant and bar owners about switching, said a number have chosen to extinguish smoking over the past four years, but the change goes too far for others.

“I have talked to some places that are bars, and they say, ‘No, we’re not going smoke-free,’ and I hope that one day they’ll change their minds,” she said.

Sitting inside Fat Tony’s earlier this week, Jason Hiatt and Grebe Wilson said they’ve noticed the smoke-free trend in local restaurants. Both smokers, they debated its merits.

“I don’t mind being in a nonsmoking place,” Hiatt said, as lunchtime patrons filtered into the restaurant, requesting to sit in the nonsmoking section. “I can see why people are turned off by it.”

“Just don’t sit there then,” his friend Wilson countered. “I won’t go into a bar or a restaurant if I can’t smoke. You’re taking away my right. We’re in a tobacco state, and the state does depend on tobacco.”

Vicky Eckenrode: 343-2339

vicky.eckenrode@starnewsonline.com