By By ANDY HAMILTON / Niles Daily Star
NILES – The Diner buzzes every morning with conversations on all types of topics. Esther Ray of South Bend, Ind. said she usually has to wait for a spot because the group of mostly men that cram into the small white building on the state line fill the seats around the counter.
The physical division between the Hoosier state and Great Lakes state may be defined only a few yards outside the window, but Ray said you would never be able to tell by listening to the customers at The Diner.
"We don't know that's a state line," Ray said while pointing south toward South Bend.
The fact remains, though, that come Monday, a new law will create a separation between The Diner in Niles and other mom and pop shops like it in Indiana. The St. Joseph County Council passed a smoking ban Tuesday, Feb. 14 with a vote of 7-2.
Barb Johnson has owned The Diner for four years and mainly employs her family to help run the place. Her daughter, Tracie and niece, Jamie are servers and her son, Tony and son-in-law, Steve are cooks. The shelves behind the counter hold family pictures, as well as plastic soda cups, individual boxes of Frosted Flakes and a real milk shake maker.
Lately, Ray said the main debate being tossed around has centered around the smoking ban. Johnson said the conversation about the ban has been as common as a refill of coffee. And, she's betting the new law will direct some smokers in Indiana to her place.
"A lot of them say they will come because they are going to quit that in South Bend," Johnson said.
Though Johnson likes the idea of an increase in business, she also said she relates to the business owners in St. Joseph County who are being forced to quickly adapt to the law.
"I don't believe it's fair … that they can just come in and do that," Johnson said of the local lawmakers.
Some of the frustration may also be directed toward people who are not satisfied eating in a non-smoking section, which Johnson provides in a separate room that is off to the side, yet still connected to The Diner.
What seems to really have bothered many smokers, including Ray and Johnson, is how the new ordinance feels like an infringement on personal freedoms. How, as Ray described it, the law is "a way of digging into your business."
Owners of restaurants, cafes and diners in Indiana have a separate but similar concern as many are worried their regular patrons who smoke will jump the border for a smoker-friendly environment in Michigan.
More than 20 St. Josepth County businesses have submitted an application for an extension which would give them until April of 2008. For those that are not allowed the delay, the abrupt change in policy will start immediately.
"That is definitely an adjustment," Ray said.
An adjustment that Johnson sees as a sign of even busier times at the Diner.
"I hope we're affected. I hope we get all the business they lose," Johnson said.
It may be time to add more seats around the counter for the additions to the morning crowd.