Arlington's Best Diner Goes Smoke-Free

They said Arlington's bars would never voluntarily go smoke-free ... then Liberty Tavern did and places like Eleventh, Union Jacks, and Clarendon Grill soon followed.

They said sports bars would never go smoke-free ... then Summers created a separate smoke-free bar, followed by Four Courts and Crystal City Sports Pub, and Thirsty Bernie's opened entirely smoke-free.

Now Arlington's best diner, Bob & Edith's at Columbia Pike & S. Wayne St., is going 100% smoke-free:


Arlington bars and restaurants have no excuses left for not going smoke-free. Really, what are places like Rock Bottom, Bailey's, and Ri Ra's waiting for?

Hmmm. Maybe there's a pattern here. Seems like locally-owned places tend to listen to Arlingtonians and go smoke-free, while nationally-managed chains tend to stick to their smoky status quo. What do you think?

A Breath of Fresh Air in Ballston

The list of nightspots in Clarendon that are smoke-free (or have a dedicated smoke-free bar) keeps growing: Clarendon Grill, Eleventh, Liberty Tavern, Tallula's EatBar.

By contrast, until recently, the list in Ballston has been short. In fact ... nonexistent.

While Ballston has some smoke-free restaurants like Pinzimini, Sangam, Ted's Montana Grill and Willow, there's been nowhere I'd go for a drink on a Saturday night. (As always, if I'm missing a place, feel free to correct me in comments.)

As someone who lives near Ballston, it's especially frustrating for two reasons:

• Bailey's, Front Page and Rock Bottom are all already set up with two separate bars. Why not make one smoke-free? Front Page and Rock Bottom even have outdoor patios they could reserve for smokers. Pretty ridiculous that they refuse to make any accomodation whatsoever for the 75 percent of us who are non-smokers.
  
  
• An unusually cold autumn. Do I bundle up and walk an extra 20 minutes in the bitter cold to Clarendon? Or put up with the smoke in Ballston?

Fortunately, I have a new option with the opening of Union Jack's in the Ballston Common Mall in the space formerly occupied by Romano's Macaroni Grill. I stopped by for the first time this week not knowing it was smoke-free and noticed it still had that new restaurant smell.

Sure enough, I got an email the very next morning from Union Jack's responding to an email I'd sent a few weeks back saying that yes, they are totally smoke-free!

To find more smoke-free establishments near you, check out FitArlington's Smoke-Free Restaurants Guide. (One warning -- some restaurants are listed in the guide even if they allow smoking at the bar.)

Has Arlington Reached a Smoke-Free Tipping Point?

When Clarendon Grill decided to go smoke-free, they didn't mess around. Not only is there a ginormous "NO SMOKING" sign right on the front door, there are those white fliers plastered all over the windows:

Just this year, we've seen three types of places go smoke-free that cynics claimed never would never flip voluntarily:

• A sports bar (Thirsty Bernie's)
• A brew pub (Cap City)
• And a music venue (Clarendon Grill)

Now that in Clarendon alone, Clarendon Grill, Eleventh, Clarendon Ballroom, Liberty Tavern and others are all smoke-free, do you think we'll see more of a chain reaction in that area? Who would you like to see go smoke-free next? (My vote: Whitlow's.)

For more smoke-free establishments, check out Arlington County's Smoke Free Restaurants guide.

UPDATE: Thanks to commenter JohnAlex, I called Whitlow's, who informed me that they're now mostly smoke-free. There's a small smoking section in the back (if you've been there, it's near the beach mural). OK, so I have to change my vote, I guess ... I know it's a stretch, but I'll go with Jay's. How great would it be to have a smoke-free dive bar? Close second would be for Tallula's EatBar to go 100% smoke-free, it'd be nice to hang out in that back lounge without smelling like an ashtray afterwards.

Another Arlington Establishment Goes Smoke-Free

This time it's Shirlington's Capitol City Brewing, which the Sun Gazette reports is going smoke-free effective today:

Although some customers have complained about the new non-smoking rule - there is even no smoking in the outside patio seating - [Capitol City owner David] von Storch hopes to reach customers who may have stayed away from the restaurant because of the smoke.

“We'll get complaints from someone with kids or who is offended by the smoke,” he said. “There is no good non-smoking area.”

The article paints Cap City as going it alone on going smoke-free, which is odd. Just off the top of my head in Shirlington alone, Carlyle, Luna Grill, and Busboys & Poets are all smoke-free.

For more smoke-free options, check out Arlington County's complete list (PDF) of smoke-free restaurants and bars!

Tonight: Rewarding a Bar That's Doing the Right Thing

OK, so have you ever heard of a flash mob?

Well, this guy out in San Francisco decided to use the concept to reward businesses that go green.

And this guy in Arlington decided to completely steal that idea to reward a bar that went smoke-free, putting the idea on Facebook and hoping a few people might show up.

Apparently I'm not the only one sick of Virginia's smoky bars, because a pretty amazing 22 people say they're coming tonight. Although you never can trust those Evite/Facebook RSVP totals, can you?

Anyway, if you're looking for something to do on an otherwise-boring Tuesday night (y'know, besides voting), come to Eleventh in Clarendon tonight from 6-9pm and look for the guy in the green CRM t-shirt.

Cool Spot Gets Cooler: Eleventh Going Smoke-Free

UPDATE 5/20/08: This great new Arlington website listing smoke-free establisments just went live.

In light of the Virginia General Assembly's ongoing refusal to do anything to protect Virginia consumers from the health risks of secondhand smoke, last year I emailed eight Arlington bars to see if they'd be willing to go smoke-free voluntarily. Got this semi-cryptic response from Eleventh in Clarendon:

The basement is smoke free and chances are the main floor will go that route soon.

Then today, stumbled upon this on their website:

Eleventh is going NON-SMOKING, effective June 1!! Look for our ashtrays to appear on Ebay!

Eleventh will become one of the few nightspots in Arlington to go completely smoke-free. Sure, there are plenty of restaurants that are completely smoke-free, but anywhere that you'd go for just a drink? Tallula's EatBar, Four Courts, Summers, and Crystal City Sports Pub all have separate smoke-free bars, but that's about it.

Ooh, almost forgot the new Busboys & Poets in Shirlington! OK, so Busboys & Poets and soon-to-be Eleventh. Any other entirely-smoke-free nightspots in Arlington I'm missing?

CRM's New Year's Resolution: Going Smoke-Free

Arlington Community Role Models has a simple New Year's resolution. In 2008, we'll be holding all of our social events at smoke-free venues - bars and restaurants that are either entirely smoke-free or have separate smoke-free facilities.

We've heard our members complain over and over how much it stinks (literally) that DC is smoke-free but Arlington is not. Last year, the Virginia State Senate passed a smoking ban and Gov. Tim Kaine was poised to sign it, but the House killed the bill on a 59-40 vote. Virginia is the last state to hold fast to a legal provision called the Dillon Rule that only allows localities the powers granted to them by the state. However, some communities like Alexandria and Norfolk are trying to get around those limitations and I hear Arlington may be next.

Until then, CRM will use its economic muscle to support businesses that voluntarily go smoke-free. The Arlington Civic Federation maintains the most thorough list of smoke-free restaurants in Arlington. Not on that list are several places that maintain separate smoke-free bars like Tallula, Summers, and Four Courts.

CRM will hold its first smoke-free event next Monday the 7th with our January Monthly Meetup at the new King Street Blues location in Courthouse. You can RSVP at the CRM website or at the Facebook event page!

Should Arlington Ban Smoking in Bars and Restaurants?

From the Washington Post:

After a heated and raucous public meeting, the Alexandria City Council voted unanimously yesterday to use its zoning powers to ban smoking in restaurants, an unusual tactic opponents said would lead to costly lawsuits.

Many states and cities, including Maryland and the District, have banned smoking in public places, but the Virginia legislature severely limits local authority in such issues. Alexandria has opted to use the power it does have -- in this case, control over land-use regulation -- to force restaurant owners to go smoke-free or lose their operating permits. It is the first jurisdiction in Virginia to
take such action.

Should the Arlington County Board take a similar approach to ban smoking here in Arlington? After all, President Bush's own surgeon general has declared, "The debate is over. [Secondhand smoke] causes disease and kills people."

While many Arlington restaurants have gone smoke-free -- the Arlington Civic Federation maintains a great list -- few popular bars are smoke-free. Arlington's most popular happy hour spots -- Rock Bottom, Carpool, Whitlow's, Front Page, Dr. Dremo's, Mister Days -- all allow smoking.

Should Arlington use its zoning powers to ban smoking in bars and restaurants, even at the risk of a lawsuit?