COUNTERTOPS
The Doctor Chimes In
Doc Goode owns and operates the Little Gem Diner in Syracuse, New York. Yesterday, he gave us a call to respond to our Roadateria report on how New York’s smoking ban has affected his business. Our observations, culled mainly from reader reports, told of a diner that seemed largely untouched by the ban, but Doc had a different story.
"Our business has dropped by 27.2 percent," he reported. He complains that much of his graveyard shift trade has simply moved on, much of it to the Turning Point Indian reservation nine miles away, where the ban does not apply. He hopes to take advantage of a loophole in the law that allows for waivers for any restaurant that proves a 15% or greater drop in business due to the ban.
As a well-educated and insightful guy, it does appear that Doc has done his research. An adamant non-smoker himself, his own poll of his customers show that at least 80% of them smoke, and many of them have shown little loyalty to Doc's food, choosing instead to go nine miles out of their way to light up with their meal.
As if to add insult to injury, even the state has suffered a negative economic impact at their Off-Track Betting Parlors. According to Doc, because business there has dropped by 7% since the ban, he says that taxpayers must fund the construction of separate smoking lounges at these facilities.
"My taxes are going to pay for something I can't even afford to put in my own business," Doc complains. Even more frustrating for Doc, the American Cancer Society, a staunch proponent of such bans, recently sponsored an event at Turning Point.
Finally, he does expect that he will soon have to close down the diner’s late night business for the first time in the Little Gem’s history. Indeed, former owner Mario Biasi used to boast to us that he did not have any keys to the place since it never closed. It looks like Doc might soon place a call to the local locksmith.
We didn't argue with Doc. No one knows his business more than he does, but when asked if he knew the breakdown between smokers and non-smokers in the county at large, he couldn?t give an answer. Nationally, non-smokers outnumber smokers by about three to one. In struggling industrial towns such as Syracuse, the gap isn't so wide, but non-smokers universally represent the majority of the local population. When asked where the non-smokers were going to eat, he said plainly that he didn?t know. His research, though mostly anecdotal, tells him that non-smokers don't go out to eat.
Frankly, I just don't buy that. So far as I know, Doc's experience represents the exception rather than the rule. The only diner I've seen that reversed their own ban on smoking was Al's Diner in Alpena, Michigan. At the time, its owner and a dear friend of the magazine, Al Sloan said to us somewhat apologetically, "I know how you feel about this, but everyone in this town smokes. We had no choice." Nine months later, Al's Diner closed, leading me to believe that the problems didn't start with the smoking policy.
Diners that self-impose smoking bans, in my experience, tend to be above average or better restaurants. People go to restaurants first and foremost to eat, whether they smoke or not. If they go to your restaurant mainly because they can smoke and then because they can eat, you've got problems in the kitchen. Non-smokers, because they don't seek some kind of refuge to engage in a filthy habit will judge the restaurant on its service, atmosphere, and of course, food quality. To me, the argument that the majority of Doc's customers smoke still rings rather hollow. If word got out that his diner welcomed people who don't bathe, 80% of his customers would stink.
I have visited the Little Gem on many occasions, and I'd return in a heartbeat. I have to keep in mind, however, that I'm not the typical non-smoking restaurant patron. My well-documented appreciation for diners and their history will often overlook many flaws in the operation. Then again, even my tolerance for the "smokey hell-hole" has begun to slip away. Today, I just might turn around and walk out, or maybe ask for a coffee to go as my lungs come under assault.
I tend to see the value of places like the Little Gem beyond what's on the menu, but most people (for better or worse) don't share my affinities. They want a clean comfortable place to bring their families and they want to eat a meal better than something they could just stick in their microwave. Does the Little Gem meet these expectations? All I know is that any diner that has survived and indeed thrived under a smoking ban, imposed or otherwise, typically exceeds this basic standard. Smoking customers who initially express their outrage at the policy change will return if they care at all about your food quality. If they don't, then it speaks volumes about where their true loyalties lie and the true value of their business.
It will take a few more years, but the non-smoking restaurant will become the norm. I do lament that hard working folks such as Doc Goode must pay the price for driving this societal transition, but he does have options. He can continue to market his business to the same, small-minded, taste-challenged fair-weather customers, or he can transform his diner into a truly family-friendly haven of savory, home-cooked meals — the kind of place that Syracuse suburbanites will certainly drive nine miles out of their way to visit. Easier said than done, I know, but no more difficult than his current effort to get the ban reversed.
What do you think? Send us your opinions to roadsideonline.com or post them on our Forum.
