im sorry. i didnt realize my profile still said lake charles. Due to sum family issue's and what not i had to move back to my home town. i will be opening a store in kingwood texas. north of houston. i used to work in lake charles at a place called cigar club(best place in the world) I thank you all again for your advice. i hope that all of you can visit me sometime.
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Brick and morter start up.
- Thread starter Lasalt
- Start date
Honestly you should watch the Texas politics closely and really get involved then because of what happened in Galveston. Make sure you and your patrons are very active. I am not sure what the current smoking laws are in place atm there, but after watching that city council meeting who knows what the future holds.
What brands do you plan on stocking that are not premiums or super premiums?
What brands do you plan on stocking that are not premiums or super premiums?
I would recommend making it a very um... social, inviting place. Make it nice so people can relax in the store and smoke. That is the one thing that I do not like about all the shops around here they are mostly making money off cigarettes and only have a couple couches crammed in a small vacant corner. I would love to go to a cigar shop and see a pool table or two and a bar would be great too.
-Brett :chat:
-Brett :chat:
In my current layout i have planned for a bar and lounge area so that you can either sit and smoke or socialize with your bar buddies and smoke. I plan to carry the more popular brands as well as none. like baccarat and backwoods. i also plan to carry things like clove cigarettes and other hard to find things like american spirits and things like that.
Oh yes American Spirits and Djarum Black clove cigarettes those are my favorite. They are harder to find especially perique.But I stick to cigars, cigarettes are just drugs.
:chat:
Cigary43
Just Another Ashhole
There are some B&M's that have gone over to this type of thing. I know Sabor Havana Cigar Stores do this and the cigars are perfect. It frees up space for the store as a whole so that you can factor in chairs and seating. Good luck on your venture.:cjump:
Have you researched what it takes to get a liquor license? You mentioned having a "bar" - I assume this is what you meant.
I would really think about that. I assume that with a liquor license, you are not really a store. You will be regulated as a bar, which is what you effectively will be. I'm sure there are zoning impacts, tax impacts, etc.
My .02. Hope that is in some way helpful...
I would really think about that. I assume that with a liquor license, you are not really a store. You will be regulated as a bar, which is what you effectively will be. I'm sure there are zoning impacts, tax impacts, etc.
My .02. Hope that is in some way helpful...
I am opening my store on sep 1. I can tell you that you are a bar as soon as you start serving anything besides a tasting. It also makes you a resteraunt here in MO. Grease traps, sinks, health dept ect. It also makes it difficult if to be open on sunday. Also if there are any smoking bans being talked about in your state, county, city you should be careful. In my case it just cost me a fortune in lawyer fees and plumbing but worked out. Good luck to you.
Yep...there are a couple of cigar bars in Boston that also have a liquor license, but to exempt themselves out of the smoking ban, they have to demonstrate that they are predominantly "cigar" places, with liquor as an afterthought. The test is purely based on revenue, meaning that the overwhelming majority of the place's revenue has to be from cigar sales.
They can either reduce the cost of liquor (not gonna happen), or they can jack the price of cigars to the point where most cigars priced at $7-8 retail are now priced at a multiple of that. Sucks. Of course, in Boston, there are a limited number of liquor licenses...for you to obtain one, someone has to give an existing one up, which is a complication in its own right.
But yeah, I imagine you've not got to deal with health codes/inspections, blue laws, smoking bans, zoning (as I mentioned before), food and beverage tax (in addition to sales taxes).
My B&M has the simpler..."theres the cooler full of soda...put a dollar in the empty La Riqueza box and take a soda out" system. Seems to work for us.
Clove cigs are banned last I heard. I thought I heard the date of Sept. 7 but can't find it online anymore.
Apparently Indonesia is filing an anti-trade suit because menthol was left out in the bill. This should be good, Indonesia vs. Phillip Morris.
Apparently Indonesia is filing an anti-trade suit because menthol was left out in the bill. This should be good, Indonesia vs. Phillip Morris.