The renovated Tabula Rasa at Square One Mall has been re-launched and it is not just its kitschy makeover and fresh paint were talking about. Stationed right next to its dining and lounging space is a new retro bar called Ink. Enclosed within is a smoking room,separated by a glass wall with quirky graffiti on it,that gives a view of whats going on in the bar. When we decided on renovating the space,a separate facility for smokers was a must. After the smoking ban was executed on October 2 last year,we had to pack off smokers to the outdoor terrace which is bad for an overall dining experience,since alcohol and cigarettes go together for many of our clients, says Sohrab Sitaram,co-owner,Tabula Rasa. The ban was implemented under the Cigarettes and Other Tobacco Products Act of 2003. The smoking room at Tabula Rasa maintains the theme of Ink,graphic art covers the walls and the room has comfortable bar stools and ashtrays. Matchboxes with the restaurants logo are thrown around and one corner is dedicated to a cigar humidor. We did not want smokers to feel alienated,this way they easily connect with the rest of their group sitting in the bar. On an average,smokers spend up to 40 minutes in the smoking room,if they spend three hours at the bar, says Sitaram. When Hard Rock Café opened its shutters with some R&B music with live bands and huge American-sized platters at Saket,they were careful about setting up a smoking facility too. The 100 sq ft smoking space has a window and a separate exhaust system. It is important to include a separate smoking area. Many of our non-smoking guests have given us overwhelming feedback that they find the smoke-free ambience more comfortable, says Amit Keswani,vice-president,sales and marketing,JSM Corp. Smoking rooms are a high priority for restaurateurs,these days,and they want to keep the smoking room as well-decked as the restaurant, says food consultant Sonia Mohindra. The bar crowd clubs smoking and drinking. It is unfair to pack off the group to some shabby corner. Also,restaurants cannot serve cigars too. This could have seriously hurt revenue for the hospitality industry. The newly opened outlets of Thank God Its Fridays at Saket and Vasant Kunj can accommodate 10 and 16 smokers respectively. The room is done up casually and stacks ashtrays. Under the guidelines,we are not allowed to serve food or beverages there. So it is not a revenue-generating space for us, says Rohan Jetley,director,business development,TGIF. The ban was executed when slowdown was at its worst so we did not really know if it affected our revenue or not. Once the ban was enforced,people began to look for hangouts that allowed smoking,and a liquor-centric place like ours was losing clients. For most lounge bars located at malls or shopping complexes,smoking rooms have become a necessity. We cannot ask people to walk down a fleet of stairs to the ground floor for a smoke, says Gagan Kapur,CEO,Buzz. Our area accommodates 15 smokers at a time. We were given notice a month in advance to enclose a smoking space with dedicated exhausts and air conditioning or put up a No-Smoking board. Initially,there was a 10 to 20 per cent drop in footfall but once people realised we have a smoking facility,our revenue crawled back to normal. The rest of us,meanwhile,can enjoy being smoke-free.
