How to lose your business in 8 days

January 11, 2007
By Gina Kenny Correspondent

Nearly 100 people representing local restaurants, pubs and bowling alleys asked Oak Forest City Council Tuesday to ditch an 8-day-old smoking ban they say already is killing their businesses.

"It really sucks," said Sabina Zymentas, who owns Forest Inn along Cicero Avenue.

No-smoking ordinances that took effect Jan. 2 in Oak Forest and other Southland communities such as Tinley Park and Orland Park prohibit smoking in most public places. The local smoking bans went into effect just ahead of a Cook County smoking ban that begins March 15.

Many local communities opted to adopt their own ordinances -- which they can tweak to suit each individual municipality -- rather than abide by the county's blanket ban. Their own ordinances allow towns to enforce the law and collect fines.

Orland Hills essentially sidestepped the countywide ban when it opted for an ordinance that discourages, but doesn't outlaw, public smoking, to the delight of some smokers and business owners there.

Many of the pub owners at Tuesday's Oak Forest meeting said they already are losing patrons because of the ban. Meanwhile, businesses in Crestwood and Midlothian, where smoking is allowed, have seen an increase, they said.

O'Brien's Pub, 15548 S. Cicero Ave., used to draw about 45 people on Friday nights. Last Friday, they had four customers, owner Thomas Hinsdale told the council. Hinsdale normally orders 50 to 60 cases of beer a week but only ordered six for this Monday, he said.

Hinsdale went to bars in neighboring towns and found some of his regular smoking and nonsmoking patrons visiting pubs in towns without a smoking ban, he said.

"We are dying, and the people in neighboring communities are prospering at our peril," Hinsdale said.

Hinsdale said he is hoping for a statewide ban.

"The problem is I want the best of both worlds. I want a smoke-free pub and I want customers," he said.

If the smoking ban remains in place, O'Brien's Pub likely will be out of business in about two months, Hinsdale said.

Forest Inn, 16200 S. Cicero Ave., expects to celebrate its 50th anniversary in August, but Zymentas is not sure her business will last that long with the smoking ban.

Oak Forest Bowl, 15240 S. Cicero Ave., has seen its liquor sales decrease 25 percent compared with the first full week of January last year, owner Keith Tadevich said. He expects business to drop off even more once bowling leagues take a break in May.

"We have already been told by some (league) bowlers they will not come back because they are smokers," Tadevich said.

Pubs in other communities are putting "Smokers Welcome" on their signs, said Cindy Tuccillo, owner of Cindy's Pub at 5230 W. 159th St.

Beverly McShane owns pubs in Oak Forest and Midlothian and has seen a decrease in patrons at Post Game Pub, 5544 W. 147th St. in Oak Forest, and an increase in patrons at Dummy's Lounge, 3358 W. 147th St. in Midlothian.

"They are going to my other bar," McShane said. "It is not just hurting the businesses, the bars and the taverns. It is hurting the employees."

Jacki Payne, of Alsip, is one of those employees. Payne has been a bartender at O'Brien's Pub for the past six years, she said. "I am a single mom. I am not going to make my mortgage for February," Payne said. "This is a job where a woman can make a man's wage."

Mayor JoAnn Kelly said the city council had been discussing the ban for months, and Tuccillo and Tadevich were the only two people who came and spoke against the ban.

"This is something we have been working on for almost a year," she said.

The city will consider having another meeting on the issue, Kelly said.

After the meeting, Aldermen Anthony Chinino (1st) and Richard Simon (2nd) said they plan to request a special meeting to reconsider the ban. Simon was the only alderman to vote against the ban in November. Chinino said he opposed the ban but missed voting on the issue because he was recovering from surgery.

Some residents have told Kelly they like the businesses being nonsmoking.

"The people who are not smokers, who have not been going to some of these businesses in town, I would like to see them go into some of these businesses and support the local businesses," she said.
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Oak Forest OKs smoking ban

November 29, 2006
Kristen Schorsch

Oak Forest aldermen have banned smoking at businesses and public places, joining more than a dozen Southland towns that have or are considering similar restrictions.

That means no smoking at taverns, restaurants (including outdoor dining areas), public parks and buildings, common areas of office buildings and more, beginning Jan. 2.

Ald. Rich Simon (2nd) was the only alderman to vote against the ordinance Tuesday night. Ald. Anthony Chinino (1st) was absent.

“What really bothers me is telling people they can’t smoke outside,” said Simon, adding that many people like to smoke while having a beer or cocktail at bars after work.

The new ordinance defines a smoker as anyone carrying or holding a lit pipe, cigar, cigarette or other type of smoking equipment.

Anyone found to be smoking illegally will be fined $100 for the first offense, $150 for the second and $200 for each violation beyond that, according to the ordinance.

Fines for owners, managers and anyone who operates a business are steeper and could lead to the city revoking or suspending their permits or licenses.

Under the new law, smoking will be allowed at parades and picnics and in outdoor areas that are at least 15 feet from the main entrance to a building or public place.

Anyone in charge of a local festival or an open air dining area can ask the city council for permission to designate smoking areas.

If Oak Forest did not approve its ordinance, it would have been forced to follow the Cook County ban, which will prohibit smoking in nearly all public places starting in March.

Oak Forest aldermen first talked in June about imposing a smoking ban — weighing the impact of such a prohibition on businesses as well as on nonsmokers who want more areas to be smoke-free.

Restaurants that allow smoking have six times more pollution than busy highways, American Heart Association volunteer Mary Morrissey told the city council this month. Two hours of being in a smoky tavern is equal to smoking four cigarettes — two cigarettes if people sit in the non-smoking section, Morrissey said.

Oak Forest was one of 15 Southland towns represented at a regional meeting in August to discuss possible smoking bans. Town officials wanted to approve similar ordinances to avoid the countywide ban and to discourage competition among towns for business.
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Chamber polls businesses about smoking ban

October 30, 2006
By Ben Lefebvre Staff writer

Tinley Park has one.

Orland Park does, too.

And now Oak Forest plans to start asking local businesses whether the city should do what the other suburbs are doing and implement a city-wide smoking ban.

The city's chamber of commerce plans to mail surveys to about more than 170 businesses to gauge their opinion about a proposed ban, said Tamara Kostecki, the chamber's executive director.

City officials plan to formally discuss the prospects of a smoking ban at a committee meeting Nov. 14.

Ald. Richard Simon (2nd) said few of the business owners he has talked with were supportive of the proposed ban.

"I'm a non-smoker, and I have my personal feelings," Simon said. "But my decision will be based on the opinion of the business community."

Ald. Anthony Chinino (1st) said he already made up his mind.

"I'll vote no," he said. "It's up to the business owners to say they don't want smoking."

Oak Forest Mayor JoAnn Kelly said the city would invite representatives from the American Cancer Society to discuss the health effects of secondhand smoke. She said city officials also would look for guidance in the ordinances Orland Park and Tinley Park approved.
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