Patios provide smoking areas for bar patrons - 13 WTHR Indianapolis

Dozens of Indianapolis bars and restaurants are finding a new way to keep smoking customers happy under the city's new, stricter smoking ban.

Joan Green is the kind of person who will speak her piece. When the weather is decent or the mood strikes her, Green and her husband will have a drink or two on the patio at the Chatterbox Tavern. Tuesday afternoon, her mood was more than a little sour.

"I was angry, because I realized that they had won," Green said.

The patio was the last place she could sit outside and not have smokers surrounding her.

"It just meant we could actually be comfortable sitting in there and not having to inhale somebody else's smoke," she said.

The Chatterbox had a reputation of a smoky, late night bar. Then the city's no smoking ordinance cleared the air. The owner stopped smoking inside before the ban became law and did not allow smoking on the patio.

"Our business really (started) dropping when the state law came in. Our late night customers, who are predominantly smokers have gone elsewhere," said owner David Andrichik.

In fact, 80 percent of the bar's late night customers were going elsewhere, primarily to taverns with large patios that legally welcomed smokers. The loyal customers complained that Andrichik was missing an opportunity.

"I said, 'Okay, our external patio, six tables out here, 24 seats, you can smoke' and we are abiding by the law," the owner said.

Chatterbox is one of 70 bars and restaurants that are now allowed to have smokers light up on their property outdoors. Eyewitness News learned there are many other businesses catching on and asking the city to allow them to do the same.