Aggressive Hermosa Beach outdoor smoking ban to begin
Business questions
Maureen Hunt, executive director of the Hermosa Beach Chamber of Commerce and Visitors Bureau, said the ban met with some concern from restaurant and bar owners, but they found themselves outflanked by determined and well-prepared public health officials.
Ron Newman, who along with Greg Newman co-owns the Sharkeez and Palmilla Cocina y Tequila on the Pier Plaza, said he doubts the ban will “have a big effect on business.”
But he said he wonders where patrons of the downtown nightlife will go, when they can no longer smoke on restaurant patios, including a surrounding five-foot radius.
Under the ban, smokers could congregate on Hermosa Avenue or Beach Drive, the alley-like street that parallels the Strand. Officials said they would place ash receptacles where the smokers gather.
“Hopefully, people will figure out where to go,” Newman said.
He said patrons smoke more at night, and much less during the day.
Newman also wondered whether European tourists, many of them smokers, would avoid the town.
“Will they stay in a hotel in Hermosa, or will they stay in a hotel in Redondo? It’s hard to say,” he mused.
“I think everybody wants something that’s healthier for everybody,” he added. “…There isn’t a person you talk to who doesn’t want to stop.”
Following the press conference, proponents of the outdoor smoking ban cited a 2011 report by the restaurant marketing firm Zen Mango, stating that 14 percent of consumers choose restaurants based on how “green” they are, “an emerging trend of which restaurants must be aware.”
They also cited a 2011 survey by Harris Interactive, conducted for the environmentally conscious SCA tissue company, showing that 53 percent of American adults would “stand behind restaurants that prove to be socially and environmentally responsible.”
