TOB Magazine

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[ 74 ] TOBACCO BUSINESS [ JULY / AUGUST | 17 ]
1.Casa de Montecristo run by Prime Cigar &
Whiskey Bar, in partnership with Altadis USA
(
This 4,700-square-foot bar and lounge opened more
than a year ago at a residential tower in Miami’s busi-
ness district of Brickell. It features a walk-in humidor,
custom furniture and design elements, and rare whis-
keys, as well as a member’s lounge and private board-
room. The upscale establishment also offers a “vintage
collector’s room” with vintage cigars.
In business for seven years, Prime Cigar also oper-
ates two other cigar stores/lounges, one in a New Jersey
country club and the other in the Boca Raton, Florida
area, but they are not branded or affiliated with any
particular cigar name.
“I never thought I would do a branded cigar lounge; it
just wasn’t something I had considered when planning or
expanding our brand,” says Ryan Leeds, part owner of
the Prime Cigar chain. “It wasn’t really a factor until we
were approached by Altadis when the word got out that
we were opening in Miami. We have a great relationship
with them, and it became an internal project. We did
know that if we were going to do a branded lounge, it
would be with them. It was just evolutionary, and, now
that we’ve done it, and as long as they will have us and
the opportunity is there, our plan is to continue to open
Casa de Montecristo by Prime Cigar lounges.”
What’s a cigar without a serene place to smoke it? An
entity that calls out to cigar smokers, sometimes just by
its name. Hence, the rise of the branded cigar lounge.
“Branded cigar lounges are an explicit effort by [cig-
ar] companies to provide a cigar-friendly atmosphere
and experience,” says Don Stuart, managing director
of Cadent Consulting Group in Wilton, Connecticut.
In partnership with cigar retailers who are in it for the
long haul, “the opportunity is to create a safe haven
for smoking cigars or other tobacco products in these
times—essentially a lifestyle oasis.”
Stuart adds that branded cigar companies provide
lounge owners with “the financial backing to help en-
sure long-term success. An independent entity could be
hard-pressed to survive except in key upscale/densely
populated geographies.”
The safe-haven aspect is tantamount to success,
“whether branded or not,” according to Stuart. Gen-
erally speaking, branding offers retailers financial
compensation, in-store branding and promotional ma-
terials, product specials and special product, and, of
course, instant name recognition. On the flip side, not
branding a cigar lounge offers retailers fewer restric-
tions and more flexibility.
So which is it—does a cigar lounge look to partner
up with a cigar brand or not? Tobacco Business recently
tapped into three lounge perspectives:
I never thought
I would do a
branded cigar
lounge; it just
wasn’t something
I had considered
when planning
or expanding
our brand.
Prime Cigar
Casa De Montecristo,
Miami Florida
Safe Havens
Continued