Jump to full article: Richmond (VA) Times-Dispatch, 2009-11-29
Author: JOHN REID BLACKWELL TIMES-DISPATCH STAFF WRITER
Intro: Loyal customers of The Forest, a neighborhood bar and restaurant in South Richmond, like to stop in for a prime-rib sandwich and a beer, and often a smoke or two.
At lunch one recent Friday, nearly every customer at the bar or in the dining booths was puffing a cigarette. "We have always been very smoker-friendly," co-owner Rob Schneck said.
He plans to remain smoker-friendly, even when a state law that takes effect Tuesday puts new restrictions on smoking in restaurants.
The Forest is one restaurant that is making use of some exceptions in the law. Schneck is turning the restaurant's patio into a nonsmoking area with about 20 seats.
The new law is seen as a major shift for a state with close economic and historic ties to the tobacco industry.
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