In the day and age of ordering alligator jerky on Amazon and having your weeks worth of groceries delivered to your door all within a few hours, it is very easy to get caught up in instant gratification and online sales – even in the cigar world. But let us not forget about the foundation of what started our hobby. That would be the brick and mortar shop.
I am very fortunate that I live in the northern Kentucky / greater Cincinnati area and am within a forty-five minute drive to seven different cigar lounges/stores. However, I see many aren’t doing as well as they used to and some of my personal favorites have even closed their doors permanently, so today I’m going to talk about the importance of showing up and giving love to the local mom and pops, the brick and mortar cigar lounges!
1. The Help We All Needed
I’m sure most of us remember our first time walking into a cigar store and the mild panic. We felt overwhelmed when we saw the different sizes, the variety of cigar coloring, the hundreds of brands. It kind of reminded me of my first day at my new high school just feeling out of place and not really knowing what I’m looking for. I was very fortunate, fortunate enough to stumble upon a brick and mortar shop that had a resident tobacconist. A great tobacconist can help a buyer to find cigars that meet their personal budget and flavor palette. Sure we have online forums that can attempt do that for us, but does it really compare to being at the store in person–getting to see the cigars, hearing the passion from the tobacconist, meeting other enthusiasts? I personally don’t think so!
2. The Community
This past weekend I spent all day at one of my local lounges, from opening at 11 AM until 5:30 in the evening. During that time, people from all walks of life came in. The lounge housed multiple races, ages and socio-economic backgrounds. Where else would you find three twenty-something year old guys sitting with a 51-year-old man who just wanted to share knowledge and wisdom?
To quote a friend from the lounge, “We’re all adults here. Let’s get into the nitty gritty of life and discuss the hard topics like adults. Cigar lounges are one of the few places where you can talk about politics, religion and other taboo topics, not because you have to, but because you’re sitting down with someone you already have something in common with, and if nothing else, the cigars unite us even if I think everything else someone might say is bullshit.”
Maybe that doesn’t appeal to everyone, but it reminds this history buff of the Roman forums where people would sit down and debate, discuss, and find out what makes the other person tick. The lounge has a way of bringing opposing sides into at least respect for one another. In some lounges that still might be frowned upon, but that’s another great thing about cigar lounges. No two are alike, and even the same lounge can initiate different experiences every time you go! You might go back to the same store, but there might be different people in there with different conversations. The community, in my opinion, is what really makes a brick and mortar.
3. Homegrown Quality
My third and final reason is that the local brick and mortar is homegrown. I’m not talking about the tobacco. I’m talking about the roots. I’m talking about the owners. I frequent a local cigar bar, where the owner, a nice gentleman from Northern Kentucky, opened his first lounge in 2019 and is planning the grand opening of a bourbon bar a few blocks away and a second cigar lounge about twenty miles away. By supporting him, you didn’t make some CEO even richer, you helped a little girl get ballet shoes, or you helped pay for his son to go to football camp.
As homegrown local brick and mortars, my local cigar lounges love their community and have found ways to give back. They have run fundraisers for the families of fallen police officers and food drives for those that can’t afford food. They provide a safe place in the community for people that need to talk, a shoulder to cry on or just time out of the house.
Buying my cigars online might be convenient, but I still continue to predominantly support the local brick and mortar lounges. I challenge each and every one of you to find your local lounge and go spend some time there. Remember your roots, rediscover community and realize that your patronage makes a difference in the lives of small business owners, people living in your very own community. And above everything else, remember everybody, the answer is ALWAYS To Cigar.
Logan Huddleston
Hello, my name is Logan Huddleston. I own and operate To Cigar, which provides cigar and alcohol content on all major social media platforms. My goal is to connect with and engage other GenZers to help them fall in love with cigars and cigar culture. I do reviews, memes, recipes, pairings, pretty much anything that connects with my audience. Most nights, I can be found with a cigar in one hand and a good drink in the other. Life brings us many questions, but I’m fond of saying, the answer is always To Cigar!