Omaha’s smoking ban officially took effect on Monday. The ban includes most public places but there are some exceptions and there are businesses vowing to fight what they say are inequities in the law.
The Bohemian Cafe has been in the same family since the 1940s and the restaurant always allowed smoking.
Now that there’s no smoking, owner Bob Kapoun is concerned about his business. He’s worried his customers will go to places where they can light up.
Bars that don’t serve food, establishments with keno and Horsemen’s Park are immune from the ban for another five years.
Kapoun says, “It’s something you figure is going to come sooner or later but if they had done it across the board we wouldn’t have had problems with it. It’s the way they did it. It’s not fair to anyone.”
Crescent Moon owner Bill Baburek agrees. He’s not bothered by the ban, but the exceptions to the rule.
“I don’t have a problem with the smoking ban per se, but I wish they didn’t have as many exemptions. It sounds like the city really relied more on the fear of lost keno revenue,” Baburek said.
Baburek says smoking or not, he expects his loyal customers will continue to show up.
