Smoking Ban Helps Savoy
Updated: February 9, 2007
People who enjoy cigarettes with their lunch have taken their business out of Champaign-Urbana. They're heading to Savoy, where there is no ban. Several new restaurants in Savoy have gotten large lunchtime and late night crowds. But it has been a different story for some in Champaign-Urbana. Smokers are ditching their old hangouts for new ones.
Smokers say they want cigarettes with their meals, and since they can't get that in their town...they're going elsewhere.
Victoria Velazquez says, "I am very dissatisfied have to drive all the way to Savoy instead of staying in my hometown to come somewhere to smoke a cigarette."
The general manager of Savoy's Buffalo Wild Wings, Becky Wilson, says,"We've noticed there are more people specifically asking to sit in smoking as opposed to saying I'll sit anywhere, they're actually asking for it."
Wilson also says the fact that they are a new restaurant has also brought in more people.
Buffalo Wild Wings hasn't had any complaints from non-smokers. It has a high-tech ventilation system that keeps air moving.
The smoking ban seems to have been nothing but positive for restaurants in Savoy. And there are only a handful of them, so they're staying full for now.







