Crazy amount of activity. We have a Grand opening date

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

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

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

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

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

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

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.