76 TOBACCO BUSINESS | SEPTEMBER / OCTOBER | 22 cigar after you’re done with a good meal. Living in Naples, I wanted to build a place where I could come enjoy a fine cigar. I don’t look at Burn as a cigar lounge; I look at it as one of the finest lounges with great bourbon, scotch, whiskies, wine and rum, where you have an opportunity to smoke cigars,” Patel explains. When designing and developing Burn, Patel and his team focused on amenities that would enhance each person’s enjoyment of the establishment. A lot of money was spent on Burn’s HVAC system, which ensured that anyone who entered would be comfortable around those smoking cigars and that when they left they wouldn’t reek of cigar smoke. Female patrons were also front of mind. Patel wanted Burn to appeal to women also and put special care in Burn’s overall design and architecture to make it more than just your typical cigar lounge or bar. “I wanted to build this place for people that either smoke cigars or don’t smoke cigars. I wanted to build a place in every city, whether it was Indianapolis, Atlanta, Oklahoma City, Naples or Pittsburgh; I wanted to be the big fish in a little pond.Wewanted to be the venue that everybody desires to come in and you get to smoke cigars. That was the whole concept.” When designing Burn, Patel called on his travels for inspiration. He had lived in India and spent time in various countries, includingAfrica, Asia and Europe. When it came time to design Burn, Patel incorporated some of the décor and aesthetics of the hotels he’d stayed at and castles he had visited. He had a simple goal: When someone stepped in Burn, he wanted that person to transcend into a journey. The Naples, Florida, location originally had a lot of Moroccan and Indian influences; Pittsburgh’s location borrowed a lot from the city’s steel bridges; and Oklahoma City’s Burn was designed with Native American andWestern culture taking a prominent place in the design. Each Burn by Rocky Patel location has a design and vibe of its own, and that was intentional. “We wanted to bring diversity and cool, unique experiences where people would come in and go, ‘Wow, this is a sexy place. This is unique. This is cool.’ If youwant to chill and smoke a cigar, you can. If youwant to listen to livemusic and dance, you can. It’s a mix between a nightclub and a lounge,” he explains. As many retailers are aware, location is everything and Patel was very strategic in where Burn establishments would be set up. Patel wanted Burn by Rocky Patel to occupy mid-tier cities. He knew it was important to be in cities where smoking and drinking were allowed. He also looked for sports cities where he knew Burn would flourish. Naples was the obvious first location because it was the same city where Rocky Patel Premium Cigars was located. Four other cities were added to the roster; Pittsburgh, where Burn is located between the football and baseball stadiums; Indianapolis, where Burn is located near the football and basketball arenas; Atlanta, where Burn is situated near the baseball arena; and Oklahoma City, which is the only location where Patel says Burn is “out there a little bit.” He’s already considering and looking at future Burn locations, including Dallas, Houston, Nashville, Boston, Las Vegas andWashington, D.C. Anyone who knows Patel knows he’s not one to come up with a business idea and leave it to others to carry out. From the start, Patel reveals that he took on an active role in Burn’s launch. When the Naples location first opened, Patel says that he spent 75 percent of his time on-site managing Patel is one of the industry’s most recognized personalities and brand owners. In addition to making premium cigars, he is the owner of Burn by Rocky Patel, a chain of upscale cigar bars. He also is an active advocate for cigar rights.
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