CIGARS AND WHISKEY
Will cigar lounges make it through?
What does the future hold for cigar lounges?
Cigar bars and lounges have been under attack for a couple of decades now. In many places indoor smoking has been banned outright, while in others smoking and the consumption of alcohol cannot happen on the same premises. Public health concerns about smoking have rightly been addressed by many of the smoking bans, but unfortunately little e ort has been made to carve out space for those folks who work and relax in an environment where tobacco use is expected to take place.
e pandemic has exacerbated this situation in a number of di erent ways, not the least of which is that so many small businesses just can’t survive without customers. But in places like New York
City, where existing cigar clubs and lounges were grandfathered into the smoking ban, once they go out of business no other cigar lounge business can take their place. Across the country, decades-old businesses are closing their doors for good.
Even the famed Nat Sherman Townhouse in Manhattan, which has been open for 90 years, was not able to withstand the economic collapse of in-person businesses brought about by the combination of the global pandemic and recession.
If you are interested in legislative action to help keep cigar lounges around, there is a group called
Cigar Rights of America (cigarrights.org) that will send you alerts to petitions you can sign about various cigar rights issues. Often there are times when cigar legislation will get lumped into other types of tobacco legislation that are not related or relevant, and this group helps to shed light on those issues so cigar smokers can make their voices heard.
For the most part, cigar smokers want to be left alone. ey don’t want to blow smoke on your kids in a restaurant – they just want their own place to sit and enjoy a hand-rolled piece of tobacco art.
Right now it’s important for cigar smokers to take action to support the businesses they want to still have around after the pandemic passes. Buy cigars from your local shops and lounges, even if you are just getting them curbside and taking them home to put in your humidor for a happy occasion.
Plan a gathering of your cigar-smoking friends at your local cigar bar for a whiskey and cigar pairing night once it’s safe to do so again. All kinds of businesses are going to need our help to recover, and the humble cigar lounge is on that list.