More Wichita eateries snuff out smoking

WichitaEagle: At least 300 ofWichita's 1,700 restaurants are smoke-free, and restaurateurs say the number is growing.

Chester's Chophouse spent about $30,000 to install smoke-eating filters.

But just before opening the restaurant, the owners decided the entire interior of the upscale restaurant would be smoke-free.

"And now it's just up there recirculating fresher air," co-owner Bobby Lane said of the equipment.

The story illustrates what many restaurateurs say is a trend inWichitafor restaurants to voluntarily prohibit or severely limit smoking.

Restaurateurs and anti-tobacco activists say the number of establishments that have done so -- from chains such as P.F. Chang's and Red Robin to local eateries such as Bella Luna and Adrian's -- has risen significantly in five years and shows no sign of slowing down.

"The number of smoke-free restaurants is increasing," said Dennis Carpenter, executive director of the Kansas Restaurant and Hospitality Association.

Most fast-food and family-oriented restaurant chains have long prohibited smoking. The biggest difference in the past couple of years is the number of casual-dining restaurants that have followed suit.

Many of those restaurants serve alcohol. For years, the prevailing theory in the industry was that you couldn't have one without the other. Sometimes those restaurants compromised by allowing smoking only in their bars.

But more and moreWichitarestaurateurs seem willing to risk it. They're convinced a majority of customers prefer a nonsmoking atmosphere, although wary that a minority might take offense.