Estimated read time: 2-3 minutes
This archived news story is available only for your personal, non-commercial use. Information in the story may be outdated or superseded by additional information. Reading or replaying the story in its archived form does not constitute a republication of the story.
John Daley ReportingJust a few weeks ago, Utah lawmakers passed a bill that bans smoking in private clubs, effective three years from now. One major new downtown concert spot is not waiting to go that route.
That club is The Depot, located in the old Union Pacific Building. We visited the club during a concert the other night and found for most, "no smoking" was no problem.
A rocking band, Unwritten Law, onstage in front of an energetic crowd. Looks like a normal Friday night concert, except for what you don't see; there's no haze, no ashtrays glowing, no smoking.
Shawn Marshall, Depot Customer: "Yeah, I'm pretty stoked that I can come to listen to some cool bands and enjoy with my friends in a clean atmosphere."
Shane Sprouse, Depot Customer: "Well, I'm not a smoker myself. But in my opinion, the majority of people who come to the depot are smokers. So majority rules and it's not really going to bother me if people want to come in here and smoke."
A few weeks ago, Utah lawmakers passed a bill making the Beehive State the 12th to ban smoking in private clubs and bars. They did it over the objections of some club owners who felt it would be bad for business. But owners of The Depot opened as "no smoking" because they thought it might have the opposite effect.
Mark Wheadon, General Manager, The Depot: "I think the number one thing for non-smoking is the diversity of people that we want to have come into the venue. People who want to come in and enjoy a great show and not have to put up with cigarette smoke."
So far, the club's owners say they're getting few complaints from customers, employees or bands.
Scott Russo, Singer, Unwritten Law: "I'm actually a smoker. So I'm not too excited about playing a non-smoking venue, but I'm really thankful that the employees and kids don't get lung cancer at my expense. So it's really nice, I'm excited."
Steve Morris, Guitarist, Unwritten Law: "We're gonna do what we do anyway on stage anyways, so it doesn't really affect us. But I guess it's good for the health of everybody else, so I guess it's a good thing."
Again, the ban of smoking in private clubs doesn't take effect until 2009, but it's possible other clubs may follow The Depot's lead and make the change before then.
