They Just Don’t Smoke, They Spend

Do smokers eat and drink more in restaurants than nonsmokers? In other words, are they bigger spenders?

“I looked over the checks for all diners for 30 days,” says Michael Taix of Les Freres Taix on Sunset Boulevard, “and the smokers spent 12% more than nonsmokers.”

Smokers, Taix says, spend more on what he calls “add-ons,” such as after-dinner drinks and dessert. “People who smoke also order more wine, and more expensive wine,” says Mark Peel, chef-owner at Campanile on La Brea Avenue. “And it’s even more true for people who smoke cigars.”

Many restaurateurs point out that smokers are not ideal customers. They linger longer, which means other diners have to wait. At restaurants where table space is at a premium, this cuts into profits.

Pierro Selvaggio of Valentino, Posto and Primi, views the smoking ban as an opportunity to create a new atmosphere. He says he will now encourage smokers to enjoy their dessert, after-dinner drinks and a smoke in the bar, where smoking is still permitted.

“The smoker is a more serious drinker,” Selvaggio says. “They like a good port or grappa, so in a way it will be more of a selling point--to make the bar into a kind of little gathering point for people who have a similar habit.”

Even Taix, who believes the ban will affect his business, sees a positive aspect. “I’m a wine lover, and for us it’s a good thing--we can smell the wine again.”

Phil Crowley at the Five Crowns in Corona del Mar, which has prohibited smoking in the restaurant for the past 18 months, says that two years ago he noticed a dramatic downturn in the number of smokers. “We have nine dining areas,” he says, “and eight of them were nonsmoking. But we found we couldn’t fill up the ninth room.”

Crowley says he knows that smokers usually spend more, but he attributes reduced check sizes to tough economic conditions: “Three or four years ago, people would call up to make reservations for a party and they would simply say, ‘We’ll have white wine with the first course, red wine with the main course and I’ll send you a deposit.’ Now they have one wine and they’re asking how much we charge for coffee.”