If the smoking ban in Allegheny County bars and restaurants remains in place after a 120-day court injunction, there will be at least one South Hills haunt where people may still eat, drink and smoke.

Owners of Jernigan's Tobacco Village in the Galleria in Mt. Lebanon renovated some of its unused square footage in December to add a scotch and cigar bar.

And because the business's main means of income is specialty tobacco sales, it is grandfathered into the legislation, allowing patrons to continue to smoke on the premises even if the ban takes effect everywhere else in the county.

"Ninety-nine percent of our customers are smokers," owner Mike Donohue said.

Yet some restaurants and bars find that prohibiting smoking is no big deal.

"I'm very much against smoking," said Ron Molinaro, owner of Il Pizzaiolo on Washington Road and Enotria, a wine bar behind the restaurant. Smoking always has been prohibited there, even on the outdoor dining patio.

"I can't believe the restaurant association even lobbied for smoking in restaurants or bars," he said.

His restaurant has been open for 10 years and his wine bar for two. Both venues tend to be busy, often with waits for tables during peak hours.

"It's an unhealthy environment for the people who work here," he said of smoking. "I think it's a disgrace to the civilized world that it's allowed. ... It has no place in a restaurant. It has no place with food."

Not everyone is thrilled.

"I've had people complain. I've had people smoke in the restroom. I threw them out," he said, noting he was lucky to have a large customer base that supports him.

"My right to breathe clean air takes precedence over their right to smoke," he said.

Bistro 19, which opened next door on Washington Road in November, does not allow smoking, and the patrons don't miss it, owner Josephine DeFrancis said.

"We didn't want our diners to be affected by the smoke from the bar," she said. "People love that we are nonsmoking. We couldn't be more pleased."

Ditto for Bado's Pizza Grill and Ale House on Beverly Road, which is a family restaurant but has a bar with live bands. Owners there decided to prohibit smoking four months ago and said they found that their business has not been hurt. Patrons go outside if they must light up, owner Frank Badolato said.

"It really has not affected my business," he said.

The countywide smoking ban went into effect Jan. 1, but a court injunction exempted restaurants, taverns and social clubs until May 1, in hopes the Legislature would clarify the law by then.

The law exempts smaller bars with fewer than 10 employees and places where food sales account for less than 10 percent of sales. That provision, which has been nicknamed the 10-10 rule, expires in 2009, when those establishments will be forced to join the ban.

But it's a different story for those who sell specialty tobacco as a main business.

County Councilman Vince Gastgeb, R-Bethel Park, who voted for the ban, said he supported the grandfather clause that allows Jernigan's patrons to smoke because that business opened before the ban.

Jernigan's, which today is owned by Ed Klett, Bob Bannon and Mr. Donohue, all of Mt. Lebanon, has been open in the South Hills for 27 years, with former locations that include South Hills Village. It moved to the Galleria 11 years ago, and the current owners bought it in 2005.

Its products include cigars, speciality tobacco, such as pipe tobacco, and such accessories as lighters, humidors and cigar clippers.

The owners opened a scotch and cigar bar in December, not solely to gain customers left in the cold when other bars couldn't allow them to smoke.

"In order to survive, we needed to maximize the square footage," Mr. Donohue said.

Now, the store is flanked by cigar boxes and a service counter on one side and, separated by a small wall, a dark-stained bar and tables on the other.

"We wanted to create a club-like atmosphere. We don't want to rush anyone," he said, noting they tried to make the space intimate.

The menu is small because the kitchen is small, Mr. Donohue said, but it includes gourmet pizzas, appetizers and desserts. The liquor includes 25 kinds of single-malt scotch, wine and beer.

He said a ventilation system was upgraded to send the smoke out into the adjacent parking garage.

"What are my three things? Eating, drinking and smoking cigars," said Tom Kauer, of Pleasant Hills, as he smoked and drank a beer with a friend one recent afternoon. He has noticed other places starting to phase out smoking ahead of the ban, and said it was beginning to be difficult to find an ashtray.

But Al's Cafe, a restaurant and bar on McMurray Road in Bethel Park, has the problem of being a mile from Washington County, and the staff there fears that, once the ban is in effect, people will go down the street, where they can smoke, drink and eat.

"We definitely are against the ban," General Manager Ed Frizzell said. Al's, which has been in business since 1959, has three dining rooms, two of which are nonsmoking. The restaurant and bar, which has seating for 400, also has high ceilings.

But, about 9 p.m., "Look at the bar. About 80 to 90 percent of people are smoking," Mr. Frizzell said.

"It's not fair [for the county] to push the rules on us. It's almost like we're living in Russia."

He believes owners should make the decisions and customers can decide what's best for them.

If the ban stays in place, "We'll just have to explore our options," he said.