Pizza Hut to go smoke-free

With Robin’s Donuts here having banned smoking at its downtown location for a six-month trial period as of Monday, at least one other local business soon will follow suit.
As of June 1, Pizza Hut is going completely smoke-free, said manager Brenda Kellar yesterday.
“We think it’s going to help our business. Sometimes we have a section that isn’t being used because non-smokers don’t want to sit in the smoking areas,” she noted, adding the change in policy was sparked by word that other businesses were going to try to go smoke-free as well.
The restaurant already has posted signs to let customers know the change will take place. And the policy is expected to be permanent. “We’re going to try it out. We’ve got it set in our minds that this will work,” remarked Kellar.
“I don’t think it’s going to hurt us at all,” she added.
It’s also rumoured a no-smoking policy may be introduced at A&W here. Manager Rory Flinders would only say yesterday that he had “no comment” at this time.
McDonald’s Restaurant and Dairy Queen here already are smoke-free.
Meanwhile, Guy Donaldson, owner of both Robin’s Donuts and Robin’s Express with his wife, Kelly Spicer, said it’s too early too tell about the new policy’s impact on business at their downtown location.
But that doesn’t mean there hasn’t been some immediate changes since Monday.
“We have seen some new faces already, which is really nice,” Donaldson noted yesterday afternoon.
“I’ve had some positive comments about how clean and fresh it is there,” he added, also noting staff worked to get rid of the smoky smell—and even replaced ceiling tiles—in preparation for Monday.
“The staff are happy, and so are our customers,” he said.
Robin’s also is offering various sales promotions over the next two months, including a draw to win a trip to Cancun, Mexico.
As previously reported in the Times, the Fort Frances Curling Club put a motion on the floor at its semi-annual general meeting last month to become a smoke-free facility effective Nov. 1.
The motion will be put to a vote at the club’s general meeting in September.
In related news, town council agreed at Monday night’s regular meeting to discuss the smoking bylaw issue at its next meeting (May 27).
Council has not publicly talked about whether to pass a bylaw banning smoking in all enclosed public places here, but instead has listened to community opinions during three meetings held April 2, 16, and 30.
Mayor Glenn Witherspoon previously has said a decision on such a bylaw could see the light of day in the next couple of months.
Dr. Pete Sarsfield, CEO and chief medical officer of health for the Northwestern Health Unit, has asked district municipalities to notify him by the end of May about their intention to pass such a bylaw.