Tailgaters goes smoke-free

WASILLA — Starting today, add Tailgaters to the growing list of bars going smoke-free.

The sports bar and grill on the Parks Highway — the grill has been smoke-free for a while now — joins Rumrunner’s at the Mat-Su Resort, the Caboose Lounge in Palmer, the Valley Hotel and the Windbreak as places that once allowed smoking but voluntarily changed their policies.

Owner Ted Anderson said he put a lot of thought into the decision.

“I don’t make decisions lightly,” Anderson said.

When he started considering making the move to smoke-free, Anderson said he did some informal research.

“I kind of started a rumor saying we’re thinking about going smoke-free,” he said. “Ninety to 95 percent were in favor of going non-smoking. That’s smokers and non-smokers.”

A Facebook post uncovered similar enthusiasm.

Anderson has owned Tailgaters for 10 years total with about a four-year hiatus from 2002 to 2006. He also owns the Mug-Shot Saloon two doors down. That bar will continue to allow smoking.

“It’s kind of a per-location thing,” he said. And Tailgaters and the Mug-Shot are different businesses. Mug-Shot has higher ceilings and attracts a different clientele.

“We wanted to create a different feel” for Tailgaters, Anderson said. “We’re going to give it a shot and see what she does.”

The decision has made a lot of people happy. Phil Lundstrom, who owns and operates the grill side of Tailgaters, is one.

“There’s been a lot of battles lost, but the war has been won,” he said.

Lundstrom said he thinks Anderson made a solid business decision. He hears from various people that they would come to Tailgaters if they didn’t have to breathe smoke.

That includes adult sports participants.

A lot of those games don’t end until 10 or 11 p.m., when restaurants are already closed.

“The adult league hockey, adult league softball, referees — they want to come out and they’re healthy people, but they just can’t sit in the bar. It’s just too smoky so they don’t come to Tailgaters.”

Another person happy about the decision — Becky Stoppa, Tobacco Prevention and Control coordinator for Alaska Family Services.

“Everyone has a right to breathe smoke-free air,” Stoppa said. “That a bar owner recognizes that and takes the steps to protect their employees and their customers is huge.”

She said that smoke-free is slowly becoming the norm. New businesses that open here and serve alcohol — Red Robin, etc. — start out smoke-free.

Anderson said there are a few more things he has to do.

He wants to build some kind of outdoor area for smokers to go. He decided to go smoke-free in the summer so he has time to get ready before the snow flies.

He said he wouldn’t have moved forward with this decision if his customers didn’t seem to favor it.

Contact reporter Andrew Wellner at andrew.wellner@frontiersman.com or 352-2270.