Every weekend, 17-year-old Kristen Dewey and a group of her friends travel from Wilmette into Evanston to hangout, eat at a restaurant and smoke a couple of cigarettes.
But one night this summer, Dewey’s weekend routine was disrupted by a small notice written on a board in Cafe Express, 615 Dempster St., where she and some friends were about to place an order.
The note read: “Cafe Express is now a smoke-free zone.” Dewey, who has been using tobacco products since she was 13, said she was not pleased with the change.
“I’m like, ‘Excuse me, I want my hot chocolate and a cigarette,'” she said.
That was Dewey’s first encounter with Evanston’s smoking ban, which went into effect July 1. The ban, passed by the Evanston City Council in April, prohibits smoking in all Evanston restaurants and bars. On Aug. 14, the City Council also barred the sale of tobacco products within 150 feet of any middle or high school.
Before the smoking ban went into effect, businesses worried that patrons would travel into Chicago or suburbs where bars and restaurants still allow smoking. And immediately after the ban started, smokers complained about the inconvenience.
Now Evanston residents – both smokers and non-smokers – seem to agree that the ban is a good idea, although the response from businesses has been varied.
Jonathan Perman, director of the Chamber of Commerce, said it is too soon to know the full impact on the local food industry. He said that 70 percent of Evanston restaurants prohibited smoking before July 1. Only the remaining 30 percent were affected, he said.
The crowds aren’t as large as usual and they are spending less time inside, said Mike Hoyland, manager at Prairie Moon, 1502 Sherman Ave. The difference between last year’s sales and this year’s is “black and white,” with thousands of dollars less in sales this year.
“On the flip side, people are really happy that our bar doesn’t smell like smoke,” Hoyland said.
The number of customers seems more steady at Las Palmas, 817 University Place, manager Placido Quinto said.
“I know we’re losing customers (because of the ban), but it’s probably five percent or less,” he said.
The ban is fine as long as customers can still smoke outside a restaurant, Dewey said as she held her cigarette in front of Taco Bell, 1743 Sherman Ave., Saturday night.
Dewey initially disapproved of the ban because she can’t smoke everywhere she wants. But she said she recognizes the danger of second-hand smoke.
“I got addicted from secondhand,” Dewey said. “I’ve been around secondhand smoke forever, from my aunt and my mom and friends.”
Kellogg graduate student Paul Smith, who has been using tobacco products for 15 years, said the bars are better without smoking.
“I like it. It smells a lot nicer,” he said.
Several Evanston parents said they supported the City Council’s prohibition on selling tobacco products near middle and high schools.
Elizabeth Meadows, whose 9-year-old daughter Zoe attends Washington Elementary School, 914 Ashland Ave., said the ban is a good start.
“It is a good idea, but more things need to be done to educate our children,” she said. “If there are no other ways to prevent kids from starting to smoke, they’ll just go farther out to get it.”
Kristen McCall, an Evanston resident and mother of two, also favors the ban, although she said she knows it won’t deter everyone from buying cigarettes.
“If they really want to get it, they will, but at least this way it’ll be a little bit harder,” McCall said.
Reach Vincent Bradshaw at [email protected].
