Table Talk
Butts on the Line
Downtown restos defy smoking by-law—or do they? By Liam Casey
The bar at Vertical: don't try smoking here—or on the patio
Image credit: Jim Norton
Are Reds and Far Niente, the financial district happy hour hotspots, playing fast and loose with Ontario’s smoking ban? The two restaurants, both operated by SIR Corp., do booming patio business in summer, in part because both patios boast an increasingly rare asset: generous smoking sections. Problem is the province’s strict anti-smoking bylaw, brought into effect last summer, forbids outdoor smoking where there’s an awning or overhang. Reds and Far Niente both have overhangs over part of their patios, but argue that, as most of the space isn’t covered, smoking should be allowed wherever there’s open air. Michael Steh, Reds’ chef, said recently that his restaurant is intentionally defying the ban in hopes of challenging it in court. But Misty Beazley, VP of the Signature Group of restaurants at SIR Corp., insists the company is doing no such thing. She added that they consulted with city inspectors, though she declined to name names. “We were proactive with the city about the smoking issue,” she maintains, “and are in full compliance.” All of which comes as news to Rob Colvin, who enforces the bylaw as manager of Healthy Environments for Toronto Public Health. Colvin says he’s told SIR Corp that Reds can’t allow smoking (fines for contravening the ban start at $365). He didn’t know about Far Niente’s outdoor smoking section, he said, but didn’t like the sound of it. Just a few steps away from the two SIR Corp. hangs, Joe Alberti, a managing partner in Vertical, says his customers don’t understand why they can’t smoke on Vertical’s patio when they can smoke at other similar patios around town: “It’s difficult to tell a customer that they have to put out their cigarette when they’re 20 feet beyond the edge of the roof with nothing but open air above them.” Expect a showdown any day now.
TEST Originally published July 2007
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psheehan July 25, 20071
You might notice that the downtown restaurants that allow smoking on their patios both at lunch and after work, are much more crowded than those that don't. I for one will not frequent a restaurant, with a patio, that does not allow smoking on that patio.
waldofo August 3, 20072
It's so easy to understand why restauranteurs go bankrupt on a regular basis. They don't understand RISK (they need to read The Black Swan:...by Nassim Nicholas Taleb.)
If I am paying $50 for a meal while sitting out on a patio; why would any restauranteur want me to taste "Export A" rather than the food his chefs have just spent 40 minutes putting together!
Restauranteurs have to remember that smokers taste little or nothing, even when the best food in the world sits in front of the smoker. Why cater to "taste bud illiterates"?
If a restauranteur wants to be "rich" (rather than provide excellent food in an excellent environment) why not become a land speculator, or become a financial adviser!
cranialfluff July 7, 20113
I empathize with non-smokers as I'm sure sitting next to a table of smokers changes your dining experience. Restaurants that specify a certain area only for smokers are being fair to both patrons.
I will only go to patios that offer smoking but do feel uncomfortable if I'm intermingled with non smokers. I'm not ignorant nor inconsiderate of others. But I do like to sit on a patio, have my wine and smoke. I have this right as well.
If you sit outside anywhere in this city you are exposed to pollution period. You just can't see it or smell it as well as cigarette smoke!
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