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Patricia and Jack Meredith order from Melissa Klock at the 2400 Diner, which recently banned smoking. He quit smoking Harry Yiasemides, the 2400 Diner's owner, recently banned smoking in his Fredericksburg restaurant--and now must take his breaks behind the Princess Anne Street eatery. |
Until Saturday, the door of Fredericksburg's 2400 Diner was a portal to a smokier time.
Customers could lift a sandwich with one hand, a cigarette with the other. Afterward, they could chat and drink coffee in a comfortable tobacco haze.
Nonsmokers were welcome, too, of course. They came even though they knew they'd leave with that smell in their clothes and hair.
But now, the butts have been snuffed.
Proprietors Harry and Maria Yiasemides held out for years against the smokeless trend. The diner's small capacity makes it exempt from the 1990 Virginia Clean Air Act, which requires restaurants of 50 or more seats to provide nonsmoking areas.
But Harry Yiasemides said many regular customers have quit smoking over the 16 years he's operated the business. The 2400 Diner, he said, had to change with the times.
"I resisted on the principle of free choice," said Yiasemides, himself a reformed smoker who steps outside to backslide.
"I like my freedom, and I know other people like theirs," he said. "I still support the freedom of people to smoke."
But now that freedom will have to be exercised outdoors--not on the diner's classic gray-and-white tabletops or at its long, shiny counter with the black-vinyl swivel stools.
The Yiasemideses made the decision about two weeks ago, gave customers a week's warning, then put the ashtrays into storage. The "No Smoking" signs went on the door and above the counter Saturday.
Instantly, the proprietors cleared the air. Whether they cleared out the customer base--or added to it--remains to be seen.
The change thrilled Jeff Fults, a nonsmoker who has eaten at the 2400 Diner three or four times a week for several years. His habit has always been to come in, spot the biggest cluster of smokers and sit as far away as possible.
This week, though, he sat where he felt like sitting and enjoyed his club sandwich without coughing.
Obviously, he said, smokers won't like the smoke-free policy.
"They have the freedom to smoke outside all they want," he said. "But what about my freedom, my rights to enjoy a smoke-free meal?"
Rights--and whose rights should prevail--also were on the minds of June Lewis and Wayne Humphrey, who did a double-take as they came in one night at dinnertime and saw the sign on the door.
The change made them fume.
"I guess nonsmokers have all the rights now. We're the minorities," Humphrey said.
"It's getting to the point where you feel pushed out," Lewis added. "This was one place where you felt comfortable."
Her complaint isn't unfounded. At least 35 area restaurants are included in a "smoke-free restaurants list" published last spring by the Rappahannock Coalition Against Tobacco. Many others limit smoking to the bar or relegate smokers to back rooms.
Lewis and Humphrey, who said they've eaten at the 2400 Diner once or twice a week for years, weren't sure they'd ever come back.
But other smokers have told Maria Yiasemides they'll stick with the diner for its good, plain food and friendly feeling--just as nonsmokers stuck with it during the hazy days.
And those nonsmokers have breathed a sustained sigh of thanks.
"I really don't care for cigarette smoke, but I was willing to tolerate it because I love the atmosphere here," said Ambrose Bailey, a former city councilman who eats two meals a day at the diner, seven days a week.
"I give them credit for holding out so long," he said of the Yiasemideses. "This was one of the lone rangers."
But Bailey doesn't think the smoke-free policy will hurt the diner's old-fashioned, congenial character.
"It smells better. It looks better," he said. "It's going to be a positive thing."
