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Smoking Ban Citation Sends Wiggie's to Court
David Wiganowsky says Madison's smoking ban has sparked some potentially dangerous situations for his employees at his bar Wiggie's, located on the city's east side.
"We've had people throw glasses on the floor. We've had them throw food back at you because they wanted to light a cigarette up," says Wiganowsky.
Wiganowsky says he's instructed his bartenders to enforce the smoking ban but avoid confrontation if they don't feel safe.
On January 14th, that's exactly what he says his bartender did.
"They lit it up and the bartender said you're not supposed to smoke in here, it's against the law and his comment was, who's going to stop me," says Wiganowsky.
That night, an undercover inspector from Madison's Public Health Department was there and witnessed patrons smoking. Now, Wiganowsky is being cited for violating the smoking ban.
"[It's] specifically stated in the ordinance that you first ask to stop smoking and then next you refuse service to the patron and at that point in time ask them to leave," says Doug Voegeli with the Madison Public Health Department.
"If somebody comes in that's 6'6 and my wife is 5'0 , is she supposed to run out and tackle them and put the handcuffs on them and hold them until the police officer comes? It's a very hard situation to control," says Wiganowsky.
Wiganowsky says what upsets him most is the undercover inspectors didn't cite the patrons who were smoking. He says they're the ones who violated the smoking ban, not his employees.
Wiganowsky is scheduled to appear in court March 17th. The Wisconsin Health Department says the citation is also for an incident in December, where inspectors found patrons smoking inside Wiggie's at that time as well.
Four other Madison bars have been cited since the ordinance took effect - Hammertime, Tailgaters, The Locker Room and Venice On The Park.
Tailgaters and Locker Room settled but must make sure no one smokes in their bar anytime soon or face a larger fine.
You (SheLion) probably have this site in your collection, but there are some quotes from Dave Wiganowsky in there, and others may be interested in some handy references for smoking ban info:
http://www.davehitt.com/facts/banlinks.html