Ohlone Cigar Lounge

Musings of IPCPR

2012-08-17T17:48:00.001-07:00

Going into IPCPR we had a plan. First, establish a relationship with the cigar manufacturers that we already have in stock. Our first cigars we bought were been through a local distributor JMG. They have been invaluable in helping us get up and running. From the initial cigars we needed to stock (based on what people want) to merchandising (displaying) the product. But you also want to make sure the manufacturers know you too. There are often special releases or support for events that you only get if you have a direct relationship.

One thing we expected to face but later than now is where to store everything. We have a lot of cigars in stock. From that initial stocking to today our inventory has almost doubled. All to keep up with the tastes of our customers. Its fun looking back to the picture of the humidors just after we first stocked them. So much empty space and no backstock of anything.

The next goal we had at IPCPR was to find new, cigars either from people we are already selling to the new great diamonds in the rough.

The last day was looking for those diamonds. One that is a very safe bet is Ortega Cigars. Eddie Ortega is a master blender that has made some great cigars in the past. 601 and Mercielago. A few months ago he started his own company and we got to try a couple. They were fantastic. I can't wait until they come in.

Eddie was partners with Eric Espinoza before he split. The cigar

industry is small and everybody knows everybody and the sands are shifting all the time. Well Eric also spun up his own line Espinoza and again. we were wowed. Two very exciting new blends to look for.

Another vendor I've been chatting with for quite some time is Esteban Carreras. I like them just by the names on one of their lines. They have the 211, 5150 and 187. If your a cop or a criminal you know what these stand for. Anyway, cigars

are great and they have a new one I'm really excited about the Chupacabara. I didn't get a chance to try this one but just based on the name and the legend I want one NOW. we won't get them in for a while yet. They are still making them so we have to wait a month or two.

Overall the show was awesome. We got a bunch of new cigars and accessories coming in.

IPCPR Day 3

2012-08-05T19:47:00.002-07:00

We concentrated a little more on new stuff today and spent more time with individual companies to get an understanding of what they are doing and some really interesting conversation with one of the top Cigar Blenders in the industry. Read on...

First stop of the day was Esteban Carrreras Cigars.

They are s small boutique cigar company headquartered in Southern California. They are definitely an up and comer with some very interesting lines and some new cigars that you need to keep a watch out for. We have been speaking with Jeff Blevins their West Coast sales rep for quite a while. We want to make sure that when we bring them in there is recognition of how great a cigar they make. Since they are almost the very definition of boutique cigar blend there is very little marketing or hype around the brand. We have to get the name out mostly on our own. But the cigars speak for themselves once you try one and I'm sure they will be a success. I love their Police line of cigars. The 5150 is more of a mild cigar but with a lot of great flavor. Something I would personally recommend to a new smoker that wants to start branching out. The 211 is a medium body with a lot of complex flavors. The 187 is sold as a full bodied cigar but I would put it more as a strong medium but with a huge flavor profile that will surprise you. They also come in very distinct boxes with the 5150 in brilliant white, the 211 in red and 187 in rich black. We ordered the complete Police Line and should be getting it in soon so swing by and try them out.

They also have some other interesting blends including the Habano I smoked as my first cigar of the day. I wanted a lighter medium bodied cigar that had a nice flavor profile. The Habano was just that. Maybe a little more to a full medium than I initially wanted but it turns out this was the perfect stick first thing in the day. One thing the Esteban Carreras cigars do very well is bring a tone of flavor to the game. Not subtle hints but not in your face overpowering flavor but good solid flavor through the entire length of the stick. You can't refer to their cigars as one dimensional

A new Cigar by them is the Covenant and my favorite name of the whole show the Chupacabra. I didn't get a chance to smoke either of these yet but they are going to be one of the first samples I dig into. As explained by Craig Cunningham the owner of Esteban Carrera the Covenent is a solid medium smoke while the Chupacabra is more of a complex full bodied. I'm excited about both. Even though my time playing Halo has made me hate the Covenent

Next up Cigar Family makers of Fuente, Diamond Crown and many others

The biggest name in cigars is Artuo Fuente. They have some of the best cigars available in the world and a huge and loyal fan base and I consider myself among a loyal fan. They don't have that much knew this year but one cigar that caught our eye was the JC Newman Perla Del Mar. We didn't try this one yet but it looked so tasty and has such a great name behind it we took the plunge and bought some. Going a little bit out on a limb but with the J.C. Newman and Fuente name behind it there isn't much of a risk.

We also continued the trend of buying some great gift packs the Cigar Makers are putting together. I really like Brick House Cigars and the gift pack looked way too cool to pass up. It is a fantastic looking ashtray and 3 Brick House Cigars in a bundle. We also bought several of the Cigar Family Charitable Foundation gift packs. The proceeds from this go directly to the Cigar Family Charitable Foundation to help children in the Cigar Producing area of the Dominican republic. This was created by Carlito Fuente to give back to the country he loves.

Then over to another exciting maker Torano Cigars

We have carried Torano for a while and it has done well with lots of customers really liking this cigar. We wanted to see what was new and exciting to bring to OCL. We were not disappointed and there are a several new blends and most exciting we had a long conversation with Charlie and Carlos Torano (Carlos junior not Senior).

But first some of the exciting new blends and shapes. The 50 year has a new Figarado shape that looks awesome. If you haven't ever smoked a Figarado they taper at both ends and are very hard to make. But I found out not the hardest cigar to make but more on that later.

They also have a new Master Maduro to complement the Master blend which rocks. And the Salutem a tribute to one of the Torano employees that fought through a tough illness and personally asked Charlie if he could make his own blend now that he is back. How can you say no. It is another cigar I didn't taste but according to Charlie Torano this is a solid cigar.

Conversation with Charli Torano
John and I had a long conversation with Chralie. One of our customers, I think it was Anthony Ramos, wanted to know more about what blenders are looking for and what they smoke personally. So we had a little side conversation. The questions and answers are paraphrased by me.
Q: What size of Cigar do they smoke?
A: Since time is limited they are often looking at a shorter duration to smoke than sitting down and relaxing with a long cigar. Charlie usually smokes a robusto size but if he can will try and get a longer cigar in if he can. Carlos likes a little longer cigar and will trends to a Toro size if he can.
Q: What do you usually smoke?
A: The Master Blend and new Master Blend Maduro are Charlies favorite but he makes sure to smoke everything he sells and also to try other manufacturers both that produce from the same region but also other areas to see what kind of flavor they are producing
Q: How do you go about blending a cigar? Do you just tell the factory roll some stuff or do you have specific flavors of particulare tobaccos in mind?
A: Blending is more of an art than a science. Although there is a little science involved by understanding what flavors a particular farm produces and what flavors each part of the plant produce. But you will find that one farm in a region will have subtle differences from another farm just accross the road in the exact same region with the same weather and soil. It is also knowing what tobacco is available so you can produce a consistent product for as long as you produce the product. Buying only a years supply will result in either abandoning that particular blend or having inconsistencies year to year.
Q: Is the Figarado the hardest cigar shape to make?
A: No, the Lancero is. They are very thin and the amount of wrapper to filler and binder is much smaller than other cigars. You have less room to make mistakes. The Figarado and Torpedo are difficult but the Lancero is the most difficult to make by far and you find the most experienced rollers doing these shapes. (Personal Opinion: Therefore the best constructed cigars are going to be Lanceros)
I want to give a huge thanks to Charlie and Carlos for taking time out of their busy day to talk to two dudes from a brand new cigar store in Fremont CA.

We then wandered the show floor talking to several different vendors.
Not much to report. We did go back to Drew Estates. The only thing new is the Liga Privada Papa Fritas. They have real production limits on how much Liga Privada they sell and only a few stores can carry the product. When we asked Jonathan about this he said it is "a huge pain in my ass" because everybody wants it and only a few can get it. Once we sat down and compared what we have as facings with Drew Estate (the cigars we sell) and what they have as an offering there was very little to add. We already have a very good selection of Drew Estate products available. We did order more Baitfish which is from the My Uzi Weighs a Ton (MUWAT) line. We introduced this to the West Coast at the Drew Estates Event two weeks ago and it was an instant hit. Not only with customers but myself as well. Having a quick 1/2 hour cigar with a ton of flavor has turned me on to this size of cigar. We added a couple of other cigar makers 4 x 44ish size cigars to our inventory.

Another vendor we very much wanted to see was Xikar.
They make some of the best cigar accessories in the industry and their lifetime warranty can't be beat. If you buy a Xikar it is the last product you will ever need to buy. If it breaks, bring it in to any retailer that carries Xikar and they will open the case and give you a brand new one off the shelf if you have it. Even if they didn't sell it to you. If they don't have it in stock they may need to order it but will do so right away for you and you should get it in a week or two. They have some new accessories out and we signed up for a custom Ohlone Cigar Lounge cutters and travel humidors. Look for them in several weeks.

There were distractions at the show. While we may not be into the hooka thing it is something people, including myself, enjoy from time to time. The hooka booths were crazy and I had a great hooka and shot pairing

Thats it for today. Only a 1/2 day tomorrow and I can't promise I'll get anything out.

Thanks

IPCPR Day 2

2012-08-04T20:13:00.000-07:00

Day 2 of IPCPR and another exciting day.

If you have an opinion on things we should be looking at there is another day and a half of show. Leave a comment and I will make sure we swing by and talk to them.

First stop was Altadis USA

They make a number of very popular cigar brands including Monte Cristo, Romeo y Julieta and a surprise to me Te Amo Cigars. As we walked around the booth you notice two things. Romeo y Julieta has changed their brand and has cool new boxes but the same flavor as before and everything is very red.

We walked around and looked that the new stuff. H. Upman has a new Sungrown blend, Omar Ortez a favorite of one of the regulars in the lounge has a new Puro Maduro, and Montecristo has a new Premium Selection that has each box signed by the roller personally. We haven't decided if we cary these yet.

Te Amo wwas the first Cigar we had of the day and we got to have a great conversation with the blender and roller Alejandro Turrent. It was really a pleasure to speak with him and he had some great insights into the Te Amo cigar. I must admit my eyes were opened up to Te Amo after this tasting. We had the Te Amo Revolution and it was damn good smoke. Maybe a little strong for a morning smoke but what the heck, we're at IPCPR. One huge trend you see is a very large number of manufacturers using Mexican San Andres Valley tobacco. Everybody seems to have a blend with some of this Mexican tobacco in it. Te Amo has been in the San Andres Valley from day one and has some excellent blends. It was also a very cool shape. An box pressed Oval. Burn was great and this was something like a 40 ring guage high by 60 wide which was very comfortable to smoke. Give them a try.

We had the Revolution and trust me this is a tasty cigar. Although I wouldn't suggest lighting it up with your first cup of coffee.

As I said, Romeo y Julieta has redesigned their packaging to be something different and it does pop out. You won't see this on the shelves of your local retailer for a while but keep a look out for them.

Next stop and very much anticipated was Padron Family

Wow this brand and booth oozed class. Jessica Padron who is stunningly beautiful. Padrons are our one of our best sellers and possibly my favorite cigar! The booth oozed class and they have a very straightforward line that doesn't change year to year and is some of the best cigars in the industry. If you have never had the Little Hammer or the 1926 Anniversary please do yourself a favor and try one

They had the whole line present including some a box of Special Release 80 Year Figarado's. What a great looking cigar and I bet it tastes better than it looks! I can't wait to get this shipment in.

Then we went over to Drew Estates

They are the polar opposite to Padron's class. This is raw, fresh and in your face and one of the new class cigar brands. We wanted to meet them and schedule an appointment so we will have more tomorrow after we formally meet with them. John and I did meet Jonathan Drew on thes show floor. I've had a couple of discussions with him on a different cigar forums including Reddit. It was a great conversation and we ranged from what is happening in the cigar industry, how great our Drew Estate Event went last month and why we can't get Liga Privada. Both Reddit and Liga Privada availability struck a nerve and he had much to say about both.

Savinelli Pipes was the next destination

We carry pipes and pipe tobacco but probably not enough of either. We wanted to see what some of the best pipes in the world are like and if this is something we should consider carrying in the lounge. It was a great learning experience for both John and I. First, the pipes are beautiful. They are hand made out of Heath tree briar found in the Mediterranean. This is the root ball of the tree where there is no specific wood grain but lots of different patterns to the grain. This gives the strength and durability needed for enjoying years of smoking. There are so many shapes and sizes to fit any particular smoker on any particular day. A seasoned pipe smoker will have dozens or more pipes in their collection. We also learned that Savinelli makes a line of premium cigars. We didn't try one today but brought home a couple of samples to try.

Next up Tabacalera Perdomo

They had some exciting new blends that we want decided to bring in. Both John and I tried one today and got a double thumbs up. the 20th Anniversary is particularly tasty. This one is going to be shipping soon so keep an eye out for it in a shop near you (hopefully Ohlone Cigar Lounge).

Then we meandered over to La Palina Cigars.

We just brought in La Polina into the Ohlone Cigar Lounge about 3 weeks ago. This is by far one of my favorite cigars I've ever smoked. The owner of La Palina Bill Paley. He traces his roots back to generations of cigar crafters. The family took a very different direction in the past and was the founder of CBS radio and what we know as the CBS empire today. Bill wanted to create a cigar as close to real Cuban premium brands as possible and this is the family blend. It isn't cheap but damn it is a great cigar and worth every penny. They have introduced the Kill Bill II to follow on to the Kill Bill I. When I asked Bill about the name he said one of the earliest samples of the cigar sucked so bad he couldn't even tolerate smoking the first full inch of it. They nicknamed this the Kill Bill line, got the right blend and a fantastic cigar was made that kept the original Kill Bill name. The Kill Bill II is a larger version of the Kill Bill I. We both got the KB I to try and I'll report back on it a little later. I've had enough cigars for a day. Sorry about the picture quality on this one.

Final stop I'll blog about is My Father Cigars

Jaime Garcia is one of the best Cigar Blenders in the world and wanted to do a tribute cigar for his father and produced the My Father line. It is one of the best sellers in the store and has a very large following. When I want a cigar in the evening after a large meal I will often grab a My Father La Bijou. An exciting new blend we recently brought in from My Father was the Flour de las Antilles. It is a solid medium bodied smoke with a ton of flavor and we have already had to re-order. We were one of the first stores to get in the area and consistent positive customer feedback has been great. There is also a new Jaime Garcia Limited Edition coming out. Haven't tried it yet either. Trust me, there is such a thing as too many cigars in a day. Simple math shows that a cigar every one and a half hours only gets you six or so sticks. Six cigars a day is a little more than most and by the afternoon your done on any tasting any distinct flavors. It's not unlike wine or whiskey tasting. After so many glasses they all start to blend together. But unlike a drink you can't taste, swish, taste some more and then spit out a cigar. A cigar morphs it's flavor over time. I've had cigars that started mild and about half way through really develop into a full bodied cigars or have a cigar that starts out harsh with a little too much pepper and spice but settle down to be a great smoke. You really need to smoke at least two thirds of a cigar to understand the flavors and textures it brings.

OK, I lied. We also stopped by Oliveros Cigars

They make the fantastic Aging Room Cigar which we had our last HERF Club event with. Great medium bodied smoke that builds about half way through to a more full bodied. The range in flavors is fantastic with this cigar and has been a hit in the store and with me. It currently holds the distinction of JR's pick. They have expanded the Aging Roomand added a slightly stronger at the beginning calling it the Quattro.

Please, I would appreciate any feedback on what you would like us to hung down. If you have heard of some cigar that you want to know more about and see if it is worth smoking let us know. Our ears are open.

IPCPR Day 1

2012-08-03T19:42:00.000-07:00

We only opened a little over 3 months ago. We had almost no retail experience and enjoyed smoking cigars but knew nothing about the business of selling cigars. That didn't stop us from opening a kick ass Cigar Lounge in Fremont CA.

Well, John and I went to International Premium Cigar and Pipe Retailers Association (IPCPR) in Orlando Florida this year. We were like kids in a Candy store. If you can smoke it and it isn't rolled in paper it's at this show. If it is something you use while smoking it's at the show. Giant booths from Fuente or Rocky Patel to tiny Illusione Cigars and accessories from Lotus and Xikar.

First stop was Alec Bradley.

They have a couple of new Products.

American Sungrown
Nico Puro
New York (was only available to New York retailers and is now opened up)
Connecticut

Some interesting stuff. And, not thinking I didn't snap a lot of pics. I do like their It's a Boy/Girl boxes a lot. I think we are going to have to stock up on some of these

Next was Rocky Patel

Rocky as usual has some fine new blends out and some very cool accessories

I tried the Freedom by Rocky. It is a solid, medium bodied but fully of flavor smoke. This isn't available yet and has only been out in limited quantities for tasting and the show for about a month. At first it was a little harsh with a strong peppery start. But as it smoke it settled down a lot and was a great smoke. I am going to definitely put this in my usual rotation of what I smoke.

This is an exciting new Cigar. Rocky opened the Burn Lounge in Naples Florida. He is now releasing these great cigars he hand blended for his lounge to everybody! I haven't tried one yet (there has been a lot of smoking today trust me) but I'm looking forward to my first one.

John tried the Private Seller. John being eloquent "I really like it". It's a medium bodied cigar with a nice wide range of flavors. It was only rolled a week ago so this was very young and it will do some great aging before it is released to everybody. Keep a look out for this one and try a few when you get it.

Homerun slugger Gary Sheffield loves cigars and has been smoking them for a long time. He became friends with Rocky and they collaborated on a cigar that Gary blended and picked out that fits his taste (how cool is that to work with Rocky to produce your own cigar). Turns out they don't suck and now Gary and Rock are making them available to everybody. I'm smoking one now and quite enjoy it. Like the other new Rocky Patel blends a little aging is going to go a long way. But this too is going into my list of cigars to keep going back to.

The box is very cool with a baseball covering and stripes on it. This is probably one to save for the humidor and ambush Gary someday for an autograph.

Next up was Oliva

They have tweaked the Serie V Melanio this year and brought out the Malanio. I already like the the Serie V. so I am looking forward to trying one of these. bad boys. I can't wait until we get them in!

There are also some cool gift packs of Nub that caught my eye. I see these being a great gift of if somebody wants to get some NUBs and try them out a great way to do it and get a free cutter.

Final official stop was La Flor Dominicana

As always LFD had some exciting cigars that I love.

Mysterio is one of the coolest looking cigars I've ever seen. Either a Natural and Maduro wrapper version with either a Maduro or Natural tip. In a Figarado I can't wait to light one of these up.

LFD also has a line of "Little Cigars". To tell you the truth I wouldn't consider something like this three weeks ago. I always thought of myself as a full bodied, big ring gauge, long cigar kind of guy. Well, I'm coming to realize that 1, if I put myself in a bucket then I don't get to experience as much in life and 2, I'm not a full bodied, big ring gauge giant cigar guy. Well at least not most of the time. I like a medium bodied cigar more often than full bodied. And at our recent Drew Estate event we introduced to the West Coast the new 4" x 44 ring gauge My Uzi Weighs a Ton, Baitfish. I fell in love with this cigar. It has a medium strength but a ton of flavor and is something you can grab and go with and smoke in 30ish minutes or so. I really enjoy sitting down for a nice long smoke but sometimes you don't get that or don't feel like that. The Baitfish is a hit with me. Now my eyes are opened to other small cigars with a ton of flavor and I think the LFD Maduro Small Cigar is going to work well for me.

It's almost 11:00PM in Orlando. Done with smoking, done with drinking Johnnie Walker Double Black and I'm done with this blog.

More tomorrow.

Thanks,

Cigars have an amazing ability to pull people together.

2012-07-14T10:46:00.004-07:00

In my last post I talked about sending cigars to one of the guys over in Afghanistan that stopped by the lounge on leave. Well, one of the customers heard about this and wanted to contribute as well. So, we set a box on the counter with a little sign. All I can say is WOW!!! In about 2 weeks we collected 221 cigars. And this wasn't dog turds people had hanging around their humidor. We had great cigars including Fuente Anejo, Liga Privada, Padron Anniversary, etc. It was such a success we are going to this again in a couple of months. Probably Veterans day November 11th.
I want to extend a special thanks to Colonel Garrett Yee. He is the guy that came in on leave. I asked him now to get these cigars in the hands of the fighters in the front line and he said "send them to me and don't worry about it". He has a bunch of friends that are commanders in line units that will make sure the front line guys get these sticks!

The most amazing thing about this is how much people wanted help. Think about it, in 2 weeks we had greater than $1500.00 worth of cigars donated for guys on the other side of the world they will never get to see. Just saying thanks for doing a hard job in a shitty place.

One thing I didn't expect was the diversity of our customers. Smoking cigars is a social event. Last night I paused and looked around a completely full lounge. Also, it was also a very diverse crowd. There were men and women, old and young and people from all over the world. It was standing room only last night. We have 19 seats in the lounge and all of them were taken and dudes were standing in the back of the lounge. Front of the store was full as well and they pulled the chairs from outside in.

This is exactly what we envisioned. A great place to hang out and enjoy a great cigar with friends.

2012-07-02T02:07:00.005-07:00

Wow, it's been a month since I last posted and I promised then to be more diligent. However reality intervened. I'm not travelling much for the next month so I will get these out every Friday I promise. It it is July 7th and this is the latest post send me an e-mail yelling at me jr@ohlonecigarlounge.com

There is quite a lot to talk about. We had our Monthly HERF club event. A HERF is a group of BOTL and SOTL enjoying a nice premium cigar. Even before the lounge opened we did this as a group of friends. One of us would go out and buy a cigar for everybody, peel the label off and do a formal blind tasting. It is a really great way to enjoy a cigar. We brought that into the Ohlone Cigar Lounge and have about 30 people in the club. Everybody gets a tasting book for notes and we walk through the experience and talk about what we are all tasting. Our next event is July 11th. The cost is $15 per event or if you sign up for a year it is $150.00 for a year. You get 2 months free for signing up for the year.

Another really cool thing happened with the lounge. We had Col Garrett Yee stop by the lounge to enjoy a cigar and give some advice to a fairly young marine about to be stationed in Afghanastan. We sent him a box of Cigars which he shared amoung the troops. Several customers saw this on Facebook and wanted to help out as well. We've collected almost 50 cigars heading to guys doing the hard work for us all.

We had an Oliva Cigars event. It was a fantastic time but unfortunatly I was out of town (Houston in late June isn't pleasant by the way). The next event on July 18th is a Double Shot event with Drew Estates and Joyo de Nicaragua. I'm super excited about this event!! And I get to be here for it! Both Drew Estates and Joyo de Nicaragua are great cigars

And to kick off July we are having an informal BBQ and Potluck at the lounge. For those who want a little peace and quite on the 4th we will have a BBQs out front where you can grill whatever you want to bring and if you want bring a side dish as well. There is a sign up sheet in the lounge if you want to coordinate what you bring as a side dish.

Final note: I met a buddy of mine I worked with 10 years ago in a local coffee shop. He hadn't smoke a cigar in years (before I met him). He stopped byt he lounge and now is a regular in several times a week. As he was leaving today he said "Thanks for opening this place". He really likes the relaxing nature of coming in, watching a game or just chilling out.

Why would I vote Against Cancer Research

2012-05-24T12:56:00.002-07:00

People smoking bothers people not smoking. There has been a lot of legislation to ensure if you don't want to smell second hand smoke then you don't have to. When is the last time you smelled a cigarette in public? There is enough rules and regulations to make sure if you don't want to smoke or be bothered by smoke then you don't have to.

But, the anti-tobacco groups don't want to stop there. They want to regulate your life and stop you from doing things that people want to do. The latest attack in California is proposition 29. It is brilliantly marketed as an Cancer Research Funding bill. But the reality is the focus on the bill is punitive and make smoking cigarettes more expensive and thus hopefully lowering the number of people smoking cigarettes. It also includes significant hikes for premium tobacco products like hand made cigars and pipe tobacco.

But what is Proposition 29 really. It is a tax to just punish smokers. The money is going into state government controlled fund that is expected to be $735 million dollars. It will do nothing to help the state budget. It also bypasses a voter mandate that 40% of new revenue go towards education.

This is also going to create a new bureaucracy in the state government that doesn't have to spend the money in the state. In fact, there are no provisions that any of this money has to go back to California except to pay for the new government workers controlling the money. The politically appointed Board can spend up to $125 Million on salaries, buildings and benefits. With virtually no accountability or control over who spends what where!

There has been a lot of TV adds for and against Prop 29. People in coats telling you how good or bad the bill is. The reality is, this bill is deeply flawed. It is also people a way that people who want to control indiviual behaviors can use when they know outlawing something is impossible.

Vote no on 29

Grand Opening Weekend

2012-05-12T13:30:00.000-07:00

Several people have complained about not keeping this blog up to date. Sorry about that. I'll be more diligent in the future.

Well, the soft opening day was crazy 3 weeks ago. There is a huge amount of pent up demand in Fremont for a Cigar Store and Lounge.

This weekend is the Grand Opening weekend. The word has gotten out and quite a few people have stopped by enjoying the free food and drinks this weekend. There is also a TON of stuff being raffled off. Ash trays, T-shirts, cutters, hats, even an really cool divot fixer/cigar holder.

We have also had a major upgrade of the air handling system. On Friday 3 big Honeywell Smoke Eaters with 50 lbs of charcoal each were installed. We were not happy with how much air we were scrubbing and once these things are powered on there will be no issue at all.

Don't forget, Rocky Patel is coming May 16th!!!!

Brad Knipstein did us a HUGE favor and took some great pictures of the lounge. Some fantastic photos that really capture the feel of the lounge.

Were almost full

2012-04-20T17:08:00.000-07:00

We've been open for a couple of hours now. There is a lot of pent up demand for a nice Cigar store in Fremont. People have come in saying they have been waiting a long time for something like this. Not sure how many people have been by. I do know the lounge has been busy all day with only a couple of chairs available.

We have also sold about 1/2 of our lockers on day 1 (Reality is we all took one so 6 were already gone). If you want to get a locker to store Cigars and other things in then you better move fast.

WE'RE OPEN

2012-04-20T11:52:00.000-07:00

We've been open for about an hour and forty minutes now.

Before the sign was flipped people started walking in!

We have our initial Herf Club member. This is a great program that allows you to try new cigars and expand your range of tastes. Similar to a Wine Club where every month we will pick a different cigar and peel the label off and have a blind tasting with the Herf Club members.

The lounge is also being worked out. People sitting around trading life stories at the table

And some others are just enjoying a nice comfortable place to smoke and read a good book.

I'll keep blogging the day.

Almost thtere....

2012-04-18T14:14:00.000-07:00

Open in 1 1/2 DAYS on April 20th!!!

There are lots of things happening right now. Brad Knipstein is here taking professional pictures of the lounge and store. If you have $40K+ of camera gear and know what you're doing you can take a good picture.

All of our employees are on board now. We went through training today on operational procedures. Getting READY.

We are putting pricing on all the cigars and doing
last minute updates to our inventory. Every Cigar should have a nice clear label of Who makes it, what the blend is, what the country of origin is and the shape and size.

And the blinds got installed today. They look nice and make it possible to watch the game in the afternoon.

We also had Jeff Blevins from Esteban Carrera come in and introduce us to the their Cigar line. They are a large boutique cigar manufacturer with their own factory that sold over a million sticks last year. I tried a couple and really liked them. They have a a wide range of flavors from nice smooth mild cigars to my favorite the Police Line of 211, 5150 to the 187 with a little punch.

Stop by this weekend and enjoy a fantastic smoke.

Grand opening is still on track for May 11th. There are several moving parts we still need to nail down but I think this is going to be an epic weekend.

Done! Now all we have to do is open

2012-04-07T09:42:00.004-07:00

The lounge is ready, the cigars are coming in and going into the humidors. All we need to do now is inventory several thousand cigars and get them into our Point Of Sale System (cash register) so we can start selling things.

We open on April 20th!

Grand opening is still a little up in the air. Last blog I said it was May 4th we may have to slip some. Several Cigar Manufacturers have let us know they want to participate in the Grand Opening. So we are going to have to juggle schedules a little.

It has been a busy week at the OCL (Ohlone Cigar Lounge). Last weekend the entire crew including Art our manager was in on Friday and Saturday setting up the lounge, getting the humidors delivered and set up and in general getting ready to open. This past week we got our big cigar order from JMG cigars and started stocking the humidors.

I also had a chance to finally meet face to face George of Rodrigo Cigars. He had a similar idea but a different twist than us. He decided to go create his own cigar line. I got to try a couple with George and WOW. What a great cigar. I feel lucky we get to carry the Rodrigo brand. The La Fortaleza is a perfect smoke for me. Strong and lots of flavor, great construction and burns well. You can see a nice review on Puff.com or A Cigar Smoker. If you want to try one of these in California you have to visit the Ohlone Cigar Lounge.

The lounge looks great. Jeff did a great job with getting the proper mood and paying attention to the details. The color scheme and lighting really make this feel like a comfortable place to hang out.

In the background you can see the lockers we will sell memberships for and two of the chairs. Like this picture because you can see the how well the colors go together and what the furniture looks like. It's too bad you can feel things over the web and see how comfy these chairs are.

The Lounge From Mowry

Bar with Lockers in the Background

This is the bar. We don't' have a liquor license. As soon as we open we are going to try and get one. Fremont has this ability to get a Conditional Use Permit. Basically they define how you can do things that are outside of what is normal. Like having a drink in a Cigar Lounge. You won't be able to come in off the street and drink but if you buy a cigar and want to have a beer or scotch with it why not. Lets hope the City understands the distinction. Notice there is a TV move the bar. Right now there are 3 TVs in the lounge. We expect to have one on if any but during football season We'll have the NFL package from DirecTV. We also had foresight to pull extra TV runs through the walls so we can easily add 2 more TVs into the lounge. Something I'll argue we should do during football season.

Back Wall

These are the chairs along the back row with nice mood lighting. we had a lot of discussions about having a small couch or English 2 Seater (love seat) and decided individual chairs are probably a better fit.

You get a great feel for the whole lounge in this picture. It is a 60" TV along the right wall. We wanted to go bigger but all the research we did showed this was the prefect size for the distance we have.

As I said before we are now starting to get our Cigar, Pipe and accessories into the store and stocking them. Hopefully you get a sense of how large our selection will be. And we are looking for any recommendations of a smoke you like and want to make sure we carry. We have both distributors and direct connections so we can get almost any brand out there. Just send us an e-mail.

Crazy amount of activity. We have a Grand opening date

2012-03-31T14:02:00.001-07:00

Grand Opening May ?th.

Sorry, I said May 4th but that will probably slip. We have several different cigar manufacturers that want to participate and we need to slip the date to accommodate them. So, Opening is set for April 20th. The Grand Opening is still a little up in the air.

There is a huge amount of activity going on in the lounge now. On Thursday the signs were installed by Sun Graphics of Newark CA. We got a lot of feedback on signs but Sun Graphics really outdid themselves with designing an awesome sign for us.

The front is lighted 4" deep signs and looks great as you drive down Mowry Blvd. We have had people stopping by throughout the day asking when we are opening. It really pops at night!

The parking lot side (where you walk in) are not lit but the lights above it make it easy to read at night as well. Sun Graphics installed both the front and back in about 1/2 a day.

The design of the signs really have a sense of old time look we wanted and are noticeable. Lots of people are already stopping in to find out when they can buy cigars. We had a fire chief stop by today wanting to know when we open.

Interior is done! I'll post pictures of what the lounge in a couple of days. The grinding and buffing of the floor created a lot of dust. We had a cleaning party Thursday night and Friday to clean all the dust out and get ready to move furniture in.

Here is part of the work crew. From left to right. Jeff beck, Art Hage, John Cooper and Joel Lach. Jeff, John and Joel are all owners. Art is the new Manager. His first day was Friday and he has been helping getting us set up.
Once the police found out we were opening we

Please meet Art our new Manager. He has a lot of retail experience and can fill gaps that a bunch of engineers who have never really worked retail before have. He is going to be a great asset to us

Once the police found out about us they did a little parade in front of our store! Just kidding there was a protest down the middle of Mowry Blvd yesterday with some Occupy Fremont Movement or anit-war or Trayvon Martin killing or any other topic. This line of police was making sure things were kept safe for everybody. Great job Fremont PD.

There is going to be a lot of posts in the next couple of days so check back a lot. I'll put up pictures of the store. we have all the furniture is in and the Humidors are right now being delivered and setup.

We have a Manager

2012-03-25T07:02:00.000-07:00

The best word for activity at the lounge right now is "frenetic". Last Friday there were probably 10 contractors busting ass to get the construction done. Painters were painting, lighting guys were lighting, HVAC were moving air, finishers were finishing. You now get a real feel for the look of the lounge. The first picture shows the colors and lighting. The floor is going to be stained a dark brown color similar to the brick wall (you'll see it below). The insulation is also going to be covered. The lighting is awesome with LED lights that have a great warmth to them.

This weekend they are staining the concrete. First they grind off the top layer, then they polish the concrete. Then pour some nasty shit on it to stain it. It needs to sit for a couple of days to cure.

This is a great shot of the retail part where the cash register and humidors is going to be. The guy in the background is standing just about where the cash register will be. You can also see the black covering of the insulation they are putting it up.

Action shot of polishing the concrete. This machine is fricken loud and makes a lot of dust. Luckily they are doing this in a cigar lounge with a kick ass exhaust system. There was really no buildup of dust in the lounge with the exhaust on high.

More action shots as they grind the concretes first layer off. There was glue from tile, spilled paint, chips and other stuff that made the surface uneven and ugly. This will take it down to smooth concrete for the polisher to go finish off.

One thing we made sure we had enough of was storage space. In the front we can use all of the space as retail display and everything else can go back here in the storage room. Since the big machines can't get into the corners they have to do that part by hand.

We had to install a door and build a small patio and exit ramp on the Mowry side of the store. Initially we were thinking that this is going to be exit only. Now that they have the foundation for the small patio laid out I think we are changing our mind and may stick a couple of chairs and a small table out there for people to smoke at. We'll have to see if this or the other side is better to hang out in.

Next week is going to be very busy.
We get the keys Friday:
Thursday: Alarm and Camera surveillance system is installed
Friday: Humidors and cash wrap (register and display) from Stewart Beckwith arrive and start to be installed.

Oh, and the title says it but I didn't mention him het. Art Hage has accepted to be the Store Manager. We had several great candidates and it was not an easy choice at all. I really look forward to working with Art. He starts Friday as we start moving into the store.

Last night Jeff Beck and I went in to have a stick, test the air and lights, etc. It is going to be a very nice place to enjoy a cigar.

When will we open

2012-03-17T16:32:00.001-07:00

Putting primer on to get ready to paint

That is a GREAT question.

There is a lot of stuff happening every day. The Painters were in Friday, Saturday and even Sunday! They have the external walls painted and will finish up Monday with the other walls. I'm not a guy you should ask about color scheme but to me it looks great.

Tools of the trade

If we work forward on the schedule it should be at least 2 weeks of work to finish up construction. After painting we need to hang the lights, stain the concrete floor, finish the bathroom and electrical and a ton of little things. I think if we get everything done it 2 weeks we are lucky.

Then we have probably at least 2 weeks of work to get everything into the store. Last night we all met to finalize our list of cigars, pipes and accessories. This is going to be one kick ass selection of supplies. I can't wait. So this puts us to best case 1 month from today.

Once everything is done, store is stocked and we are ready we will have a little private friends and family event. This will not be open to the public. There will be refreshments and food and we want to get feedback on how things are working in the lounge and if there are any tweaks we need to make. If you want an invite to this event let one of the owners know.

This is the wall of the lounge about 8 feet of the ground

A couple of days after the private event we will open our doors. No fanfare (ok, maybe a little fanfare) but we don't want to start off day one with a grand opening and find we can't ring people up on the cash register or some other sort of silliness.

A couple of weeks after we do this soft opening we will have the GRAND OPENING OF THE OHLONE CIGAR LOUNGE. We have already been approached by a couple of cigar manufacturers saying that they want to be involved. You'll see a blast go out on Twitter, Facebook this blog and e-mail when we pick the right date. I think any way we slice it we are into May for the Grand Opening.

You get a feel for the color contrasts we will have

When we started we thought we could open by the Super Bowl. Then March Madness, Then opening day of baseball and now I am sure we will be open before NHL playoffs are over.

We've had quite a few interviews with manager and part time employee candidates. I think we've found a couple of great candidates that have the right personality and know how to run a retail operation. We should be able to hire somebody soon. If you want to manage a Cigar Store and Lounge you'd better hurry. We will not hire anybody for the part time position until we open or about a week before we open. Send your resume in.

First Walk In Customer

2012-03-10T17:41:00.002-08:00

Today Jeff and I stopped by the store to lay out where the track lighting needs to be set up for the contractor. It was a bit of a fiasco. We had brought some tape and were going to tape on the floor where the cash wrap is going and where all the lights need to go. However, have you ever tried to lay tape on top of a very dusty concrete floor. It doesn't stick at all. Luckily the general contractor showed up. It took him about 2 minutes to do what Jeff and I had worked on for 20 with no success.

While we were there two guys peaked their head into the store. They were looking to buy some cigars, saw the sign outside and looked us up on Yelp. Too bad we had to turn away our first customers.

Construction is almost done. The contractors were in today prepping to pour concrete over the trench they dug for the bathroom plumbing. This is going to have to cure for a week before we can stain the concrete and then that will have to cure for a week. So minimum of 3 more weeks until we open. I think it is more likely like 4.

How we will open:
First we are going to have a private opening with just friends and family. We want people to buy some stuff, enjoy some cigars and test everything out. This will be people with patience as we find kinks in the process.

Then we have a "Soft Opening" where we are open, but not really pushing the fact. Let some people come in and buy but not a huge rush.

Finally, the Grand opening. This is where we have a big fanfare, we already have a cigar manufacturer letting us know they want to support the opening! Food, wine, etc. I am putting money on sometime early April. April 7th would be awesome but we need some good luck and strong tail winds to hit this date

Retain front of the store

The place is really starting to feel real. The drywall and ducting is up. Here is a picture front he front of the store as you walk in. Along the wall to the left will be all custom made humidors all the way to almost the doors in the back you see. The cash wrap with display and cash register is way at the back.
One thing I think we really did right was to have a lot of storage space. I'll take some pictures once we get the lights on in the store room.

View of the lounge. It feels really big.

The lounge feels much larger than I thought it would. This is going to be a very nice place to hang out and enjoy a cigar and if there is a game on this is going to be a great spot to watch the game. The holes you see there in the far wall are where we are going to hang at least one large TV but we have drops for a couple of others and will have the ability to add TVs easily if we need to.

I mentioned in earlier posts our second biggest expense, and largest construction expense, is the air handling system from Alton Air in Fremont. We are all building this lounge to be the place we want to hang out in. So, there will be no smoke at all in this lounge. There are three sets of air. One is coming in with clean fresh air, the second is a return to scrub and clean the air before putting it back in and finally there is a straight up exhaust for events or when it gets crowded.

Keep following the blog and as always you can find updates on the web page Ohlone Cigar Lounge. You can also sign up for e-mail updates at info@ohlonecigarlounge.com

Thanks

OCL Sign

2012-02-28T18:17:00.000-08:00

We have a winner. Although we tried a bunch of different ways to build a sign leave it up to the professionals. We used Sun Graphics in Fremont CA a nice local company and they outdid themselves designing a sign and Monument Board plaque.

Busy at work

2012-02-24T16:08:00.000-08:00

You will see much more frequent posts now. Every day new things are happening at the store.

We all knew, and consistent feedback from everybody, was to make sure it isn't smoky inside. A smoky lounge isn't comfortable to hang out in. Our single biggest expense (except for the initial cigar order) is going to be the air handling system. Every couple of minutes we are going to scrub the entire store of smokey air, clean it and return back fresh air. We looked at a couple of companies but settled on a local company in Fremont Alton Air. They have experience in venting cigar stores and are great to work with.

Everyday we are stopping by and watching the progress. Here is a picture of John taking a look at the ducts that are going to bring the fresh air back into the lounge. We will also have a direct vent out with a turbo button. So when we have events and stuff and things get a little smokey we can kick in the turbo mode. One thing I realize now that the walls are up is that the lounge is a lot bigger in reality than I thought it would be. I can't wait until the first cigar!

Now Hiring. Plus, are we Insane trying to open a Cigar store in California

2012-02-21T13:10:00.000-08:00

We are now actively looking to hire a manager for the store and are looking at part time people for day to day operations. If your interested Check out the Craigslist Add or shoot me a personal e-mail. Ideally we'll find somebody that knows retail and the cigar business.

Now to the crazy part. A lot of people have asked me how hard is it to open something like a Cigar Lounge in California and I've had an equal number of questions if we are going to be able to serve drinks.

For the Cigar Lounge answer it is pretty simple: If you have a retail tobacco establishment you can smoke inside. Simple enough and attempts to tighten smoking regulation in California were recently defeated by the California Legislature. We have legislated to the point that if you don't want to encounter people smoking you don't have to. Now we need to make sure people that want to enjoy a Pipe or Cigar can continue to do so. However, we do have a risk of the city or county passing stricter laws than the state and causing problems in the future. But for now I think the sentiment is on the side of letting people choose. If you get the smoke away from me when I don't want it let others who do want it to smoke.

The alcohol is a different beast. Short answer if you drink you can't smoke inside. But we have spoken to a couple of people in the City of Fremont and explained that people can't come in off the street and get a drink. What we want to be able to do is have people come in and enjoy a drink while they smoke a cigar. You have to buy a cigar from the store and we are not going to allow cigarette smoking in the lounge. I think these two factors will let us sell alchoholic drinks to people enjoying a cigar in the lounge. There is a lot of precedence already in California of Cigar Lounges selling drinks, we just need to work with the City to understand this isn't a bar trying to get around the rules.

Updated Pictures. I swung by the store today to see the progress being made. They have trenched the concrete for the sewer line to the bathroom and pulled all the electrical. We are looking at having electrical inspections in a day or two.

In the first picture you see the dirt from the trench and a couple of the guys walking around. The open door at the right side of the picture is the lavatory. This is the retail space.

I also took a quick picture of the Lounge area. It is bigger than I imagined in my head. This is going to a great place to relax and enjoy a Cigar, and hopefully a drink, in. The openings in the middle of the wall are the braces for the big screen TVs we'll be installing. A 60" by the far wall and a 42" next to it. Above the Bar to the right you can't see will be another smaller TV.

Thoughts on a color for the front sign:

2012-02-17T08:26:00.000-08:00

Any comments on the Sign Color.

Did somebody want a Kick Ass Cigar Lounge in Fremont

2012-02-11T21:01:00.000-08:00

Construction is now in full swing at the Ohlone Cigar Lounge. The have the entire place framed up and were working on Saturday to get things done quicker. I dropped by to a very dusty worksite today. They were working on the external dry wall today and if you've ever been somewhere where sheetrock work is going on you know there is a lot of dust in the air.

The first picture is from the front of the store which will be the humidors and retail space. Along the wall at the left is going to be the humidors, there is a bathroom in the corner and the cash wrap (display case and where the cash register will sit) will be back against the far wall. You can just make out the doorway to the lounge at the back by the light. Sorry for the quality but given how much dust was there this is pretty good

Retail Space

The second picture is from the lounge. When I looked at the plans and we were playing with how the furniture was going to be arranged I was worried that the lounge is going to feel a little small. I was wrong. The lounge is going to be large and very comfortable to sit and enjoy a cigar in.

From back of lounge

Along the left wall will be a 60" TV for sporting events. Back wall will have member lockers and a bar with a smaller TV above it. The opening to the lounge can be seen a little easier here along the far right wall. Lots of space for comfortable chairs to relax in.

Now that construction is in full swing the other 10,352,412 things we have to get done to open become real!

This week I had to fly from San Diego to Montreal for a 1 day meeting. Long flight but I got to enjoy some of the finer offerings in Montreal. What a cool city. This may or may not be a Monte Cristo Number 2 from Cuba. That is a fantastic Scotch from Scotland I'm drinking.

Please go Faster

2012-02-04T17:40:00.000-08:00

Despite our confidence being shattered about a SuperBowl weekend opening we thought we were safe saying March Madness. But reality is sinking in and we will be lucky to be open for the National Championship Game on April 2nd. Permits have all been signed off but construction in earnest isn't starting until next week Feb 7th. Then 4 - 5 weeks of buildout, 1 week for the floors and 1 or two weeks for us all to move in. Simple logic pushes out to mid April best case.

We are selling though. My last post mentioned our first customer Paul Benn. We have made a couple other sales of full boxes. If you are looking for a box of cigars or accessories we can and will sell it to you. Unfortunately we don't have enough storage space to sell partial boxes yet. You'll have to wait until the store opens.

We are actively looking for a manager to run the store. This is our most important decision and if you have anybody you can recommend let me know. If you have somebody that would be a great fit for running a retail Cigar Store and Lounge please let me know at jrichardson@yobbo.net.

Sorry, no pictures this week. Lots of stuff happening but not anything that you can take a picture of.

First Customer!!!!

2012-01-26T10:34:00.000-08:00

We have our first customer!!!!

We got the official sign of from the city to start construction and John Cooper literally walked the application for sellers permit though the city and got the sellers permit for Fremont. Paul Benn has been jonesing for a nice Xikar Cigar Lighter and Punch. Well, he wanted them, we can sell them and... We have our first CUSTOMER!!!!! Thanks Paul.

Construction has started in earnest. Or more appropriately destruction. All the walls are torn down, cement is being cut to run power and plumbing lines in prep of the true buildout. The builder is expected 5 - 6 weeks of construction, then we are going to do nice stained concrete floors which takes a week then we probably have a week of moving in the humidors and stock. We are still good for a March Madness opening. Not sure if it is the first tipoff of the first game or the final game but we should be open to watch the game while enjoying a fantastic cigar.

I also wanted to thank everybody on the feedback I got on the signs. For the front of the store turns out plain is best. Nice clean simple sign you will be able to easily see as you drive by on Mowry.

The sign on the signboard in the front turned is awesome because of great ideas from a bunch of people. This sign will be one of the panels on the signboard you can see in the lower left hand corner of the picture above of the front of the store.

We now have our newsletter up and running. We will only send e-mail when we have information and we won't give out or sell your e-mail. This will be a spam free zone. If you want to sign up for our newsletter Newsletter Signup. Also the Website is up and running. Take a look at OhloneCigarLounge.com. You can also follow us on Twitter @ohlonecigars

Feedback on the signs

2012-01-16T21:19:00.000-08:00

We got some great feedback on the sign selections facing Mowry. So, lets do this again. In the front of the store there is a lighted display showing who are the tenants . Here is the view from Google Street View of 3370 Mowry Avenue. Arrow is pointing to the sign. We need a little sign on the display out front. This will be something you might notice driving by but more likely as you walk along the sidewalk.

Here are three examples created with Adobe Photoshop. Feedback on what you like is very much appreciated. Either post to FaceBook. Or Tweet us @ohlonecigars or just put a comment on this blog. your feedback is really valued.

Getting closer!!!

2012-01-15T17:21:00.000-08:00

John and Jeff discussing the construction plans with

the general contractor and landlord

We don't have final city approval but they are going to start the buildout that doesn't need approvals. Construction start Monday and hopefully by next week the City has signed off and we can do more than just preliminary stuff.

In the last blog you saw we have started ordering furniture, Point of Sale system, lighting, etc. We are making sure we get the very best deal possible out there and found a great lighting company to supply all our lights for the entire store. Check out Arcadia Lighting for some great lighting options. We really wanted to go green so the front of the store is all florescent lights with LED spot lights on the humidors. The lounge is all LED lighting! I bet we consume less electricity than a single hairdryer for all the lights in the entire store.

We are trying to figure out what signs looks best. I photoshopped a couple of options to compare. The goal of the sign isn't to have brand recognition (we don't have any) it's to have somebody who loves smoking cigars be driving by at 35MPH down Mowry and see CIGAR out the corner of their eye, lock up the brakes and turn in to see what this we are about. Your input is very much valued so shoot me a quick e-mail or update the comments with your thoughts.

My next update will hopefully have pictures of the construction and an update on the opening time. We had set of goal of SuperBowl Weekend. Especially since it is very possible the Niners could make the Super Bowl. How cool would that be! That was a little ambitious. We are now looking to March Madness to be open and have a great place to enjoy some College BB. Go Terps!