State Status
Any Preemption
News Summary
Delaware smoking ban seems to be winning public over
Publication Date: 2005-03-29
- Author:Robert Moran
- Publication:Philadelphia (PA) Inquirer
"It's rough," said Govatos, 52, who estimated that business at his downtown Wilmington watering hole declined 50 percent after the prohibition took effect in late 2002.
For his nonsmoking bartender, however, the ban is a breath of fresh air.
"I probably wouldn't be bartending if there was smoking in bars," said Gretchen Ghione, 32, of Chester County, who took the job at Govatos Tavern two months ago.
In Delaware, many bar owners and their patrons still gripe about the ban, but most of the state seems to have accepted - even embraced - the law.