Cigar Crowd: Which would you prefer in a small (1000 sq ft) cigar lounge? (1 Viewer)

[chkmte]

Hey PCF cigar crowd! I'm considering opening a small cigar lounge. I'm in a midwestern town of about 50k folks, but the area within a thirty-minute drive has about 150k people. I'd love to get your detailed feedback on how to go about structuring the pricing and amenities. Annual Fee, Monthly Fee, Daily Fee, No Fee, Bring Your Own Smoke/Drink, Cut Charge, Cork Charge, Cigars on Hand, No Cigars on Hand, Staffed, Unstaffed, Lockers, No Lockers, etc.

I'm thinking my ideal set-up as an owner would be a monthly membership charge of ~$39 (min. 12 months) with $9/mo locker rental (as available), permit outside smoke and drink, no smokes or drinks for sale, in an unstaffed, entry-by-door-code arrangement. Of course, the lounge would be first-class with luxury seating, appropriate lighting, an obligatory poker table, music/media/record player, a small kitchen and bathroom, outside deck, fire pit, etc.

But what is the ideal arrangement for you, the consumer? Please leave comments, I'd really appreciate it. - Tim

 

[FestiveKnight]

Hi Tim,

Some thoughts.

I’m generally not a fan of the entry by code and unstaffed model. I’ve got a lovely spot to smoke at home, the reason I’ve gone out somewhere is for the energy and social interactions of a public place and that’s facilitated by staff and people dropping in. Along those same lines, I’m not personally a fan of intentional exclusive-by-price places, so I’d be less interested if it was only members. But obviously that model works for many folks and I may be in a minority.

The fees question seems relatively simple to me, if you provide things, you can charge a feed to those who BYO. But it sounds like you don’t plan on providing things and you won’t have staff there, so why is the fees question relevant?

lockers are a must if no sticks on sale.

It doesn’t sound like there’s tons of competition but when I’ve visited family out west, it’s not like there’s a shortage of comfy places to sit and smoke. So what is the value prop you’re offering? It seems like you need to answer that before anything else

 

[chkmte]

Thanks for your feedback @FestiveKnight. For me, unless the weather allows me to sit outside, I have nowhere to smoke. That is, I don’t want my stuff to smell like smoke.

I suppose a bar is an option, but for me, I prefer to be in a really quiet environment so I can enjoy my cigar and think.

As for the staffing issue. The problem I see is overhead. Same with a humidor. If you have those things you absolutely have to charge more.

We have one local cigar lounge in town. But they charge $5 cover and you either have to buy their cigar and beer or pay a $5 cut charge. So, to go down there for an hour or two is $20 easy.

It bothers me to feel nickel-and-dimed. Most cigars I smoke can be found online really cheap. And so, I do think a little differently than most. But the value would be a low-key room to enjoy a smoke. Nothing more, nothing less.

 

[thetikiking]

Hey Tim, echoing what FestiveKnight says. I can smoke at home if I am looking for a quiet place to relax/unwind/ think. I go to my local brick and mortar, or my local cigar lounge, to socialize. I am happy to pay for a beer, or a cut charge, because I'm paying a premium for the socialization. It helps too, that the lounge typically has a much wider selection of cigars than I can keep in my personal collection, approximately a zillion TV's, etc.

At the end of the day, as the owner of a cigar lounge, you are looking to turn a profit. If you're just looking to have a quiet spot to smoke with your buddies, see if you can build a shed with air purification. If you want to put a lock on it and let your buddies store their cigars in a humidor that they pay to use, go with god. But if you're starting a business, you've got to treat it like one.

 

[chkmte]

For various reasons, I think differently. As I have nearly lost my hearing, socialization is not my thing. But I do enjoy nice things and quiet environments. Thanks for your two cents @thetikiking

 

[KHarp1]

I've been involved with cigars most of my adult life, and by adult I mean 15, from a passionate consumer to in the business. I had my own humidification business back in early to mid 90's as well as setting up and running the humidor of the oldest tobacco shop in the state. We had a club at that store, as well as a former employee opening up his own club a couple of miles away. They are somewhat labor intensive, believe it or not...humidification needs to be tended, ashtrays need to be emptied and cleaned, floors need vacuumed, cigars need rotating. There needs to be a watchful eye last out the door because I can't tell you the number of times I had to take a large stand ashtray out side because of a small fire. The one thing I believe about cigar shops/clubs is they all evolve around the communal love of cigars. They started, and evolved, from the retail side of the business. People come in, love the smell and culture that is cigars, and, stay because they like the environment. Professional knowledge was very much a part of this. I had contacts in the business, I talked personally with Arturo Fuente, Marvin Shanken and other industry leaders... and I'm not name dropping for an ego trip...but that was part of what built that club. I had knowledge that I loved to share. People came to that shop for many reasons, but, one of the main reasons besides the largest selection of cigars, was the 70 and 80 year old guys that had worked there 50 years. Because of the knowledge, because of the stories from all those years of living that life. That club would not have survived without that attachment to the store.

There were several attempts by others in the area to try and form their own standalone clubs, but, none lasted more that a year. It's hard to recreate a cigar shop in a club. Not saying or can't be done, but, it seldom works. From what I've experienced. The best "clubs" just seem to happen.

I've moved 20 miles away from that shop, the surviving owner had since passed and it did not survive, but, there is a small strip mall a couple of miles from my new home, and, it's not what you might call an ideal place due a club, but, usually daily you can walk into that place and there will be a hodgepodge of chairs scattered around the floor with guys talking and killing an hour, or two, having a smoke and enjoying the smoke shop atmosphere.

 

[Donkeyfish]

Hey PCF cigar crowd! I'm considering opening a small cigar lounge. I'm in a midwestern town of about 50k folks, but the area within a thirty-minute drive has about 150k people. I'd love to get your detailed feedback on how to go about structuring the pricing and amenities. Annual Fee, Monthly Fee, Daily Fee, No Fee, Bring Your Own Smoke/Drink, Cut Charge, Cork Charge, Cigars on Hand, No Cigars on Hand, Staffed, Unstaffed, Lockers, No Lockers, etc.

I'm thinking my ideal set-up as an owner would be a monthly membership charge of ~$39 (min. 12 months) with $9/mo locker rental (as available), permit outside smoke and drink, no smokes or drinks for sale, in an unstaffed, entry-by-door-code arrangement. Of course, the lounge would be first-class with luxury seating, appropriate lighting, an obligatory poker table, music/media/record player, a small kitchen and bathroom, outside deck, fire pit, etc.

But what is the ideal arrangement for you, the consumer? Please leave comments, I'd really appreciate it. - Tim

I would say $40/mo is low. Even with selling sticks you would need several dozen members to make your nut. If they’re buying outside the store, $100 including the locker is better. Keeps as we say “riff-raff” out. Here in Vegas there is one private lounge and it’s $3k/yr and worth it if you have time to use it, open 24, key fob access..etc.