When Monday rolls around, life for Minnesota bars and restaurants is going to change.

No smoking signs will replace ash trays and the haze of cigarette smoke will be a thing of the past, as will some customers possibly, too.

Signed into law in May, the Freedom to Breathe Act of 2007 prohibits smoking in all Minnesota public places and workplaces. The law expands the Minnesota Indoor Clean Act to all bars, restaurants and private clubs, including military service organizations, leaving some smokers searching for a new place to light up.

“At the end of this month, I won’t come to this establishment any more,” Ken Polzin of Darwin said last week as his cigarette burned in an ash tray at the Litchfield American Legion. “I’m looking for a new bar at my house.”

Judy Pauls, owner of Bud’s Bar in Watkins, said she has heard from three of her most regular customers that they will no longer be patronizing the bar. Instead they built their own in a shed.

“They’ll just be sitting at home. Whether that lasts for years or a couple of months...I just don’t think that the bar business will be as good or as prosperous as it is now,” Pauls said.

Bar owners and managers estimated they will lose 15 to 50 percent of their business once the law goes into effect. They are afraid their biggest customers will either stay home or come less frequently for shorter periods of time.

While drinking a beer at the Litchfield American Legion Post 104 last week, Mitch Aanden of Litchfield said he will continue to support the club; however, as a smoker, he doesn’t believe he will come as often and stay as long. He thinks the law will shut down a lot of “mom and pop” businesses.

“I just think the state went overboard when they did the deal with the bars,” Aanden said. “They should have been allowed to have a smoking area. It’s going to hurt. It’s really going to hurt a lot of the businesses.”

Read the complete story with more comments from local residents and business owners in the Sept. 27 Independent Review.