Not All Restaurants Smoke Free
By:
Updated: April 17, 2007
If you thought all restaurants in Arkansas were smoke free, well, think again.
At one Springdale establishment, you can enjoy a cigarette with your food despite the ban.
The Cafe restaurant owner Sandy Grover implemented new rules now that the state smoking ban is in effect. In order to dine in, you must be 21.
Grover said, "I`ve been smoking for 53 years and Im not going to put my cigarettes down."
The age limit exempts restaurants from the ban, something Grover said is not an issue. "My business has picked up."
Grover has owned and operated her restaurant for ten years and didnt want to lose her smoking customers, so as soon the smoking ban was announced, she took action.
"I got the brochure in the mail from the health department and called them immediately the next morning and had them send me the paperwork."
The paperwork allows Grover to request exemption, as long as her customers are over 21.
So far the Arkansas Health Department said they`ve received 130 smoking ban exemption requests.
