First Customer!!!!

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

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!!!

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!