It is almost noon as the morning crowd sits on the leather seats and drinks coffee with their morning cigars at Cigar Lounge.
“The first thing that draws them in is the cigar,”said Philip Fullman, general manager, as he talked about new customers. “But then you find a great deal of camaraderie and friendship that grows out of this common enjoyment.”
Cigar Lounge is rich, complex and sometimes even “bready,” one way cigar aficionados describe the flavors and aromas that float through the air of the business.
The blend of smells comes from the shop’s merchandise. Most of the cigars are stored in the climate-controlled, walk-in humidor, which keeps cigars or tobacco moist. Fullman said he has something inside for everyone.
“Whether somebody comes in like, ‘Hey I’ve never smoked before; I don’t know what to try,’ we’ve got something that we can find them that’s going to give them a good introduction,” Fullman said.
The lounge has anything a customer could need to preserve, store or light a cigar. But Fullman said his shop offers more than cigars, pipes, cutters, lighters and tobacco to its patrons.
“Relationships are a big part of the shop—as it is with any cigar shop,” Fullman said. “You meet a lot of different people because you both smoke cigars—people that you wouldn’t meet any other place in your life.”
The customers shape the atmosphere, which Fullman said is very laid-back. Different types of crowds come in during different parts of the day and people form personal and sometimes professional relationships.
The store’s four co-owners were originally customers of the store. They bought the lounge, which had been open since 2003, and with them the store celebrated a reopening in 2011.
Since then the owners have purchased additional locations in Plano and Dallas. The Plano site is a shop without a lounge, but the Dallas lounge, like McKinney, has its own unique environment based on the clientele.
Looking at the vast selection the store has in the large humidor, it could be easy to be overwhelmed by choices. The choice in product, like everything else in the store, is about enjoyment, Fullman said.
“At the end of the day, what it’s about is the enjoyment,” Fullman said. “People will ask, ‘Hey what’s the best cigar in your humidor?’ And the honest answer is, ‘Whichever one you think it is.’”
Preferences can vary because of customer’s differences in sensory palates, but Fullman and the rest of the staff guide customers through the world of cigars. The general manager describes his job as a “cigartender,” like a barista working in a coffee shop.
“It’s a very social environment, but the great thing is getting people in and introducing them to things,” Fullman said. “That’s where the draw is for me—getting people excited about my hobby.”
