It’s nothing new that the rather strict Bavarian smoking ban in restaurants and pubs made many innkeepers declare their pubs “smoker clubs” to circumvent the ban.

Attributing smoking to the “Bavarian tavern culture”, as restaurant association & co. like to do it, is already somewhat stranger, less understandable.

But a “Ristorante & Pizzeria” running an ad with the following lines (my translation) in a local weekly newspaper is something I don’t really understand, content-wise.

For preservation of the Italian dining and smoker culture, entry to our restaurant is from now on restricted to members only.

Naturally all guests, including non-smokers, who wish to keep visiting us will receive a corresponding membership card for free in our restaurant.

We hereby ask for your understanding and are happy to welcome you as our guests again.

Now I’m wondering:

• What does founding a smoker club have to do with Italian meal/dining culture?
• Is there any Italian smoker culture at all?
• Does the only Italian (according to the Yellow Pages) among four restaurants in Ilmmünster, a village of 2000 people in the county of Pfaffenhofen, really need such a campaign because too many smokers are staying away? Preservation of Italian meal culture in Ilmmünster because they’d have to close otherwise, despite being rated very good at pafnet, better than all Italians I know here in town? *

They certainly don’t get my understanding for this flimsy campaing; at any rate, I consider a smoking ban in restaurants(!) good.

* Might be a side effect due to the lack of possibilities of comparison there in Ilmmünster, though.