Irene’s Grill agrees to terms in smoking ban

The Southern Nevada Health District and Irene's Grill have agreed the business will not allow any of its employees to serve food to customers in its bar area to avoid violation of the Nevada Clean Indoor Air Act.

The agreement, as well as a few more stipulations, has been signed by a District Court judge, said attorney Stephen Minagil Thursday during the agency's monthly meeting.

It is the result of an earlier lawsuit filed by the Health District against Irene's for not complying with the state's smoking ban.

The Health District was seeking a preliminary injunction against Irene's at 5480 and 5482 W. Spring Mountain Road. However, Irene's tried to rectify the issue by erecting a wall that separated its restaurant and bar creating a stand-alone bar.

Stand-alone bars that do not serve food are exempt under the Nevada Clean Indoor Air Act.

Though the Health District approved the maneuver, Irene's, according to court documents, still violated the law by allowing some of its employees to take and deliver food orders to bar customers. Under the agreement, signed Tuesday, bar and restaurant employees at Irene's are prohibited from picking up and delivering food to bar patrons. Employees are also not allowed to take food orders from customers, according to court documents.

However, bar patrons are allowed to bring their own food into the bar. They can also order food from Irene's Grill and bring it back to the bar for consumption, according to court records.

The Health District has agreed to drop the lawsuit if the business sticks to the terms of the agreement over the next six months.

The Health District board also learned Thursday that the dispute between it and Casa Fuente, a retail tobacco store located in Caesar Palace's Forum Shops, is scheduled for trial in January.

Casa Fuente sued the Health District in February after it attempted to enforce the smoke ban at the business.

The Nevada Clean Indoor Air Act prohibits smoking tobacco in malls but does not ban smoking in retail tobacco stores. Casa Fuente allows smoking in a roped off area in front of its enclosed store, which it calls a patio area.

It is the Health District's belief that the patio is inside the mall, an area where smoking is prohibited.

A District Judge granted the tobacco store a preliminary injunction prohibiting the Health District from enforcing the smoke ban at the tobacco store while the case is pending, Minagil said.

"We are not enforcing the act there,'' he told the board