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

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:

Any comments on the Sign Color.  

Did somebody want a Kick Ass Cigar Lounge in Fremont

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

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!!!!

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!

Plans are done. Now the fun begins

Just before Christmas we got the plans finished to submit to the City of Fremont.  I think we have everything in order so it shouldn't take too long to approve.  Then construction begins!!!!!

For now we are out shopping, shopping and more shopping for stuff.  We have the Humidors ordered and thats good.  They are custom made and have about a 2 month lead time.  But, we don't have anything else.  On Thursday several of us went down to the Macy's outlet in Union City.  They have a warehouse full of furniture at excellent prices.  Most of the furniture is in great shape and brand new.  We started by looking at nice leather chairs to enjoy a smoke in.

We were sure before we got to the store that we should have all chairs an no couches or love seats.  However, I think we might have had a possible change of heart with some of the selections.  

A love seat isn't so bad as long as you can get enough spacing.  I really like the look of the love seat to the left.  It is very comfortable to sit and and really has a nice touch of class.  There is also a little debate about going with Stadium seating in front of the TV for the sports events.  Not a bad idea and the chairs are very nice to sit in.  Plus you have built in cup holders and they recline!

  

We also built into the plans to have a bar in the lounge.  Right now we will not be able to sell any beverages.  But before we started we did have some discussions with the City and a Beer and Wine license is possible.  As soon as we open we will apply for the Beer and Wine license.  But we still need a bar before we open and the Macy's outlet had a fricken bar!!!  It has a marble countertop and brass footrail and everybody agrees this is awesome.   We need to do a little thinking on how to make this work with the current plans but the awesomeness should come through

If you want to make the lounge comfortable and a place people enjoy smoking cigars you have to keep it clean and neat at all times.  Sitting down to an overflowing ashtray with ashes all over the place sucks.  So, we are going to go with the best ashtrays for smoking cigars any of us have found.  They are called the Big Stinky from Stinky Cigars and I highly recommend them if you enjoy a cigar every now and then, especially with friends.  They have nice wide bowls with well spaced places to put your cigars on.  You don't have to worry about ashes spilling out of this bad boy.

Next week we are meeting with a company to design the signs.  Since the front of the building is facing Mowry avenue a very busy street in Fremont we need nice clean, bold signs.  Something you will glance up and notice as you drive by at 40MPH and say "Hey there is Ohlone Cigar Lounge, I'll need to go and check it out sometime".

Two things are left before we can submit the plans to the City of Fremont for the permits needed for Construction.  One is lighting and that one seems to be under control.  Jeff Beck designed the entire store lighting and has done a fantastic job.  The other was the HVAC and air cleaning system.  After an overpriced, unresponsive contractor we called a Alton Air a local company that has done cigar lounges in the past.  They seem to have their act together and we should be over this hump as well.

There hasn't been much change inside the place since the last update. The contractor has gone in and cleaned it up a bit and we have some fresh pictures.  This is what the store looks like now.  A completely empty shell. This is taken from the front corner.

The first thing you realize is that this is a pretty large.  whole rear rear half is going to be a lounge with leather chairs and big screen TV's to enjoy a smoke and sports at the same time.

Here is the design of the entire space.  There will be a dividing wall separating the retail space from the lounge.  We are building a little bar in the space and really want to at the very least sell beer, wine and soft drinks.  Before we go of a liquor license we have to open.  And it is likely going to take a conditional use permit from Fremont but we feel pretty good that this will be allowed.  There are quite a few other cigar lounges in California with alcohol sales.  You won't be able to come in off the street and get a drink.  There are bars to do that.  But you should be able to get a drink if you are smoking a cigar in the lounge.

Jeff Beck also did most of the store layout design.  Here is what the store is going to look like.  He used Google Sketchup which is an amazing program that is pretty easy to use and FREE.  The picture I took at the top of the article is from the top left corner of the drawing.

We are now building a mailing list.  Click here if you want to going the mailing list or get any other information it will open an e-mail and just let us know you want to get regular updates.

We really wanted to get open by the SuperBowl weekend.  There is very little chance that can happen.  The construction hasn't started and that is going to be a couple of weeks + floors + air cleaner + painting + + +.  Just too much stuff to get done and too little time to do it.  Right now the over/under is February 15th but I'll be happy to make March Madness Basketball (GO TERPS)

Here is a picture from the bottom right corner in the lounge area looking back across the whole lounge and store.  I'm really excited and can

The Checks are in the bank
The Lease has been Signed.
Humidors have been ordered

We can now unveil the location.
3370 Mowry Avenue, Fremont CA 

It is on Mowry Avenue between Fremont Blvd and Paseo Padre Parkway.  Great central location in Fremont!

Now the fun begins.  Before we submit to the city the final plans of the lounge we need the air handling system designed.  We have a contractor we are going with and hopefully this will be pretty quick.  We need to move and scrub a lot of air because one of the fastest ways to make a Cigar lounge uncomfortable is to have it smoky inside and your eyes burn.  And one of the fastest ways to piss off a neighbor is to have cigar smoke leaking into their space.  I think we have done a great job of planning so these things never happen.

We are also working on the look of the place.  It is going to be open ceilings and stained concrete floor.  I was a little worried that the stained concrete wouldn't look good but after a couple of samples I thought it looks great.  We will have some rugs in the lounge but the rest of the store will be stained concrete.  here is a sample.  We haven't finalized on color yet but it will be a rich, deep color not too different from what is pictured.  The process is to come in and grind and polish smooth the concrete.  Then to put some real nasty stuff on to prep and then put the dye on.  Wait a week for everything to settle and voila, a nice polished concrete floor.

There are a ton of things to do and we really wanted to open by the 1st of February.  This would have us open for SuperBowl weekend!  But, right now the over/under is set at February 15th and even that is dicey.  With the lead time on Humidors and other furniture we are really pushing the envelope.

I'm going to try and post regular pictures of the progress.  just so you get a feel of how things are progressing.  The picture above from Google Maps is really the back of the lounge.  You will enter from the parking lot on the other side.  You will walk in and there will be a bunch of very well stocked humidors with top of the line Cigars, Pipes and smoking accessoriness.  As you pass through the retail you will walk into the lounge with comfortable leather chairs, tables, a small bar and a bunch of Big Screen TVs to watch sports and other events.  It's not much to look at right now but I promise you this is going to be an Awesome lounge.  A man-cave away from home.

Keep checking back each week.  I'll try and at the very least get a picture updated and loaded.  If you have any questions please ask.  You can reach me directly or you can always ask the store directly info@ohlonecigarlounge.com