SOUTH BEND — Forty-seven restaurants in St. Joseph County had to go smoke free Thursday. A two-year grace period to comply with the county's smoking ban expired at midnight.

The restaurants that had the grace period were mostly smaller, with less than $450,000 in sales. Many of them saw an increase in business, because so many other restaurants had to ban smoking.

For more than 50 years, the ambiance at Tom's Restaurant in South Bend included smoking, but no longer.

“Of course, you've got the few that are going to grumble,” said owner Mike Willamowski. “There's been the one or two that we've had to catch at the door, and say 'No, you've got to go back outside and put that out.'”

Some longtime customers say they didn't come to the restaurant as much because they were tired of the smoke.

“When you're eating, it's kind of offensive to nonsmokers,” said customer Don Fischesser. “I realize people like to smoke, they have the right to do that, but I'd rather have a chance to go to a place that doesn't have smoking, especially to eat.”

“I think everyone will be a lot happier,” said Allan Larkin, another longtime customer. “I think the fears that you will lose customers is probably a little bit overblown. Everybody that's cutting back on smoking or wants to would probably welcome the change.”

But other customers told WSBT News they won't be coming in as much because of the smoking ban, but the restaurant's owner isn't too worried.

“We've heard from a couple of people who say they might not be coming in now. The way we look at it is there's not too many other places for them to go either,” Willamowski said.

The restaurants that have a liquor license can partition off a "smoking area" with walls and doors or ban anyone under the age of 18. But many of these restaurants say those weren't acceptable options.

County leaders say they'll enforce the ban based on complaints. Breaking the rules can result in a $50 fine for smoking in a non-smoking area. Businesses face a fine up to $1,000 if they don't comply.