The first time I went to the San Pedro Cafe in downtown Hudson, I was very impressed. 

The food was amazing and unique, the wine selection was great, and the ambiance couldn’t be beat.  I would say that in the last three years I – with either business associates or my family – have eaten at the San Pedro Cafe at least twenty-five times.  I’m pretty picky about the quality of the food I eat, and I live over forty minutes away from Hudson, yet I would go out of my way – sometimes at the last minute – just to eat a brick-oven pizza at San Pedro.

With that said, let me tell you why I won’t be frequenting this eating establishment ever again.

The San Pedro Cafe is owned and operated by Pete Foster, who also owns Barker’s, a bar and grill in downtown Hudson.  San Pedro and Barker’s have been smoke-free since Pete Foster opened them.  Good for him.  He saw a market for a smoke-free dining experience, and ran with it.  He recognized a popular niche and is now very successful in his ventures.

However, Pete Foster isn’t content with running his eating establishments as he sees fit.  He wants to force other bar and restaurant owners to be told how to run theirs.

In a recent article in the Hudson Star Observer, Pete was interviewed and asked why he believes that a smoking ban should become law in Wisconsin:

Foster believes being smoke-free has given his two restaurants a competitive edge over restaurants that allow smoking, but regardless he would like to see the state pass a smoking ban in public spaces.

“This is a health issue for everybody, my customers and my employees. Second-hand smoke has been proven to be harmful. To me it’s pretty black and white. People have the right to smoke, but when their choice affects other people who aren’t smokers, that’s when you have to put your foot down.”

I’d like to know exactly who this mysterious “you” person is.  But I digress…

He makes sure to let us know what a good businessman he was for noticing that the non-smoking niche would prove to be a lucrative business decision, but in the same breath wants to deny other business owners’ their own niche that may include the use of a legal product on their property.

If there is that much of a demand for non-smoking establishments, the market will indeed respond, no differently than the way Pete Foster responded to what he saw to be a demand in the marketplace.  Obviously he made a wise decision to respond to what he saw to be something that the public demanded.

But rather than allowing the market to respond accordingly to the demand, and being content running his own successful businesses, Pete Foster wants to strip away private property rights from smoking establishments, and allow the government tell private property owners that they can’t allow the use of a legal substance on their premises. 

Pete Foster is an elitist, busy-body, nanny-state, self-righteous do-gooder who isn’t content minding his own business and allowing other people to run theirs.   

Foster said recent articles in Twin Cities papers that say smokers will be heading to Hudson upset him, especially when they listed Barkers as one of the places they could go and smoke.

“It’s a slam against us. I don’t like the idea of turning Hudson into the ashtray for Minnesota.”

Foster anticipates that it will be a battle to get the ban passed in Wisconsin. He says that the Wisconsin Restaurant Association supports it, but the Wisconsin Tavern League will put up a “ton of resistance.” Regardless, he believes the ban will eventually be passed.

“The ashtray for Minnesota”?  Real cute.  I wonder how many elitist liberal dinner parties he’s used that line at. 

I, on the other hand, saw the smoking ban in Minnesota as an advantage to tavern owners in border towns in Wisconsin.  While I empathized with my Minnesota neighbors for having their private property rights stripped away from them, I cheered for the tavern and restaurant owners in Wisconsin, who were sure to see an increase in their cash-flow.  Well, they won’t if Foster has his way.

I shouldn’t, however, simply pick on Pete Foster.  I also have a bone to pick with Gary Lamers, who owns the long-time popular “Mama Maria’s”.

Mama Maria’s is located in North Hudson.  It was where my  friend – now husband - took me out to eat for Senior prom.  The food was okay when hubby and I went there a few months ago, and I’d eat there again if I were really hungry, but again, I’m picky (and Italian).  Regardless of what I think, it has been a very popular place in North Hudson for twenty or more years.

Well, I won’t be eating there ever again, either.

Gary Lamers owns another of the area’s popular restaurants, Mama Maria’s in North Hudson. Smoking is allowed in the bar, but not in the dining areas. Lamers said he would support a statewide smoking ban.

“It’s a question of health. Why wouldn’t you support a move that would protect my customers and my employees? It’s the right thing to do.”

Lamers said he doesn’t believe a ban would adversely affect his business. “People come here for good food and good service. I don’t think not being able to smoke would stop most people. And if they need a cigarette, they can step outside and have one.”

Lamers said he has a few employees who smoke, but believes they would understand a ban, and some of them already can go through their entire shift without smoking. “I believe people are getting the message about just what smoking and being around cigarette smoke can do to a person. It’s like all the other health precautions we take. It’s time.”

Good for you, Gary!  Why aren’t you content simply running your business the way you see fit?  Why must you infringe on the rights of other business owners?

Fortunately, Hudson still has a few good restaurateurs who believe in property rights.  Paul Rode, of “Idaho Chucks” (which I’ve never been to, but will surely check out) seems to be the only sane person willing to stand up to the nanny-state do-gooders:

Paul Rhode, owner of Idaho Chuck’s, North Hudson’s only smoke-free restaurant, is none-the-less adamantly opposed to a Minnesota-style smoking ban in Wisconsin. “When we as restaurant owners take all the risk, taking first and second mortgages on our homes to do what we love to do, the state should not be able to tell us how to run them,” said Rhode.

Rhode says he is not a smoker, and it was his choice to operate his restaurant smoke-free but he believes that choice should be up to individual owners. “If someone wants to chase that dollar, they should be allowed to do so. And customers should have the choice as well. It is disturbing that in America, those decisions can be taken away by the state.”

Rhode said the state should be involved when it comes to things like food safety and health codes for restaurants, but not when it comes to smoking, a personal choice that should be left up to individuals.

He believes a ban on smoking in bars and restaurants would seriously damage businesses like his neighbor across the street, the Village Inn. “For a lot of people, smoking just goes along with going out for a drink. Take that away and it could seriously hurt a business like theirs… If I had an extra $700,000 today, the first thing I’d do is open up a smoking restaurant in Hudson. It would be great business.”

Rhode believes that smoking bans violate the personal freedoms America is built upon. “The state of Minnesota has it wrong, and I hope nothing like it comes to Wisconsin.”

(By the way, I think the Star Observer spelled Mr. Rode’s name wrong.)

I think I’ll contact Paul Rode, and offer him some free advertising space on my blog simply for standing up for private property rights…and for being pretty a swell guy in this feisty little chick’s eyes.

The moral of the story?  If we want Wisconsin to remain a state of freedom, and allow business owners to have the rights to their own property and the right to allow the use of a legal substance on their premises without having to worry about “mommy government” policing them, we need to start putting our money where our mouth is.

I am hereby boycotting the San Pedro Cafe, Barker’s, and Mama Maria’s.  I would ask that you do the same, and show them just how powerful “the market” can be.  Maybe if you should also let them know, personally, what you think of their elitist, busy-body attitudes:

• San Pedro Cafe Contact Page
• Barker’s Contact Page
• Mama Maria’s email: info@mamamarias.com 

Article:  Local restaurant owners do and don’t support smoking ban

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