Greenville . . . Local business leaders in the hospitality industry stood with Greenville officials to launch the new
“Breathe Easier” campaign that introduces the city’s new smoke-free ordinance to residents and businesses.
The ordinance goes into effect January 1.
“A smoke-free environment is good for business,” Greenville Mayor Knox White said, citing statistics from a Zagat’s restaurant survey.
While not all city restaurant owners agree with the new ordinance, they were brought into the conversation early on to develop the process to educate the community. “We want to make sure everyone knows we had a great dialogue with the city on how to roll this out,” said Carl Sobocinski, owner of several Greenville restaurants. “We're taking this as an opportunity to have positive dialogue and seeing how we can gain business from this."
“This idea for a marketing campaign came directly from the owners of restaurants and businesses,” said Jim Bourey, Greenville city manger. The campaign will include buttons for restaurant staff, street banners, ads, newspaper columns, public service announcements (I, II) and a cable television program.