Summary
The goal of the CigarScore Lounge is to bring the premium cigar lounge experience to Midlothian, Texas. We have a passion for cigars and our community and can think of no better way to bring people together than with cigars.
When I think about cigars, I think about community. I smoked my first cigar after coming in second place in the UIL One Act Play competition when I was at Denton High School (back when the smoking age was 18, of course). My first really good cigar was enjoyed while walking the Bear Trail one evening with a friend, during my freshman year at Baylor University. Since then, I’ve enjoyed premium, hand-rolled, all-natural cigars with people from all over the world, from all backgrounds, life experiences, job titles, ages, and ethnicities.
Over the past 20 years, I’ve come to know, enjoy, and appreciate the community that has come together for one thing, cigars.
Meet Ellory & Ashley
Ashley and I moved to Midlothian in 2020. Ashley is in the medical field as a cardiac sonographer. I’ve owned my own business since 2014 and work as a consultant and web developer.
In November of 2021, Ashley was diagnosed with double breast cancer. After several surgeries and chemotherapy, she’s happy and healthy.
However, during the struggles that cancer brought, Ashley and I talked about changing our dream of owning a cigar lounge from a 20 year plan into a 2 year plan.
And that’s how the idea of building the CigarScore Lounge started turning into a reality. In the months since and while searching for the right location to open our cigar lounge in Midlothian, we’ve been selling cigars and accessories through our online store, holding events, and selling through our vendor table at craft fairs.
What We Sell (and Don’t Sell)
The CigarScore Lounge will sell premium cigars, cigar accessories, and related items to its customers. We will offer a humidor – a temperature and humidity-controlled environment where cigars are stored and maintained – as well as lounge areas where customers can enjoy their cigars while enjoying the company of others, watching the game on television, reading a good book, or getting some work done.
Additionally, we plan to offer beer, wine, and spirits once we have the appropriate licenses and approvals.
A premium cigar is an all-natural product made of tobacco grown in countries such as Nicaragua, Honduras, Peru, and the Dominican Republic. Much like the grapes that make wine, tobacco leaves are harvested, dried, and then fermented in a controlled environment for several years. Once the tobacco has fermented and aged, a master blender combines leaves from different parts of the plant, different farms, and often from different countries into the cigars we know today.
A Quick Note About Cigars, Cigarettes, Marijuana, and Smokeless Tobacco
Cigars are all natural products. Premium cigars, like the ones we will sell, are all natural, even down to the organic vegetable glue that holds the cap on the end. In fact, most cigars never touch a mechanical object; everything involving the making of a cigar is done by hand, from harvesting the leaves to placing them in a box.
Cigars are rolled with full leaves. If you were to unroll a cigar, you would find nothing but leaves inside of it. There is no paper. There are no added flavors. The only thing you will find inside of a cigar is an all-natural leaf that has been carefully fermented and hand selected to be in that blend.
Cigar smokers do not inhale. Contrary to popular belief, the purpose of smoking a cigar is not actually what people think of when they think about smoking. To smoke a cigar, you draw the smoke into your mouth, you taste it with your tongue, and blow it back out.
Cigars are not cigarettes nor marijuana. In fact, most cigar smokers do not also smoke cigarettes and even fewer smoke marijuana. Additionally, neither cigarettes nor marijuana nor smokeless tobacco or vaping will be allowed in the CigarScore Lounge. Cigar smokers only want to smoke cigars, and only want to be around people doing the same. To be clear, cigarettes, marijuana, smokeless tobacco, and vaping will not be allowed in the CigarScore Lounge.
Cigars are meant to be enjoyed. Whereas other types of tobacco are designed to deliver a quick hit of nicotine, cigars are meant to be smoked slowly. The average time it takes to enjoy a cigar usually ranges from about an hour for a Robusto to upwards of two hours or more for a Churchill.
Additional Products
In addition to cigars, we plan to offer memberships, cigar accessories, merchandise, and non-alcoholic beverages.
Memberships: Our memberships will be available at three levels and price points. A Locker Membership is a private membership that includes a locker and discounts on products for a single member, or for a group of members.
Adventure Club: The Adventure Club is our monthly cigar subscription, sometimes called a “cigar of the month club.” Our Adventure Club is unique in that we offer 9 cigars as options, and we let our members choose the 5 they want. Instead of sending everyone the same 5 cigars, we stand out by giving our members a choice from our curated list.
Cigar Accessories: In addition to the cigars themselves, we will sell the accessories required to enjoy them. This includes cutters, lighters, ashtrays, and humidors.
Gift Cards: Everyone knows someone who smokes cigars. Bosses, spouses, uncles, lawyers, policemen, etc., and all need to be thanked. Gift cards allow our customers to confidently give the gift of cigars without worrying they’ll pick the wrong thing.
Merchandise: Hats, hoodies, t-shirts, and mugs; people in the cigar industry love their merch. We have our own line of merchandise that’s printed for us in South Carolina.
Non-Alcoholic Beverages: While we do plan on getting a liquor license, we also intend to offer non-alcoholic beverages for sale. For example, we plan to sell coffee, sodas, root beer, and water.
Alcoholic Beverages: We plan to offer a bespoke collection of curated beers, wines, and spirits. Tell us your favorite drink, and we'll do our best to have it for you the next time you come in to visit.
About the Lounge
Our goal is to lease approximately 1800 sq ft in the Harvest Hill Shopping Center. We'll offer a large humidor to keep our cigars at the right temperature and humidity. We plan to have a bar for serving soft drinks, beer, wine, and spirits.
In addition to our smoking area that's open to people over 21 years old, we'll offer a members-only area with more luxurious furniture, private lockers, and a selection of complimentary snacks and other requested amenities. Both areas will have comfortable furniture, free wifi, and TVs for watching the big game.
We'll have state-of-the-art air filtration systems that exceed the legal requirements to ensure we have the highest possible level of air quality.
Additionally, we'll have a cigar patio that's approximately 400 sq ft along the south side of our lounge where our guests can enjoy a cigar on days when we have perfect weather.
Finally…
If everything goes according to plan, we hope to open for business at the end of the year.
Cigars bring people together. More than just about any other activity, cigar smokers talk to one another and tell stories. Cigars facilitate friendships and they help men and women around the world to celebrate special moments.
To me, cigar lounges are where I connect with my wife. They’re where I plan business projects and enjoy my time alone. They’re also where I make new friends and strengthen existing relationships.
And we hope to host you as a guest when we open.
Again, if you have any questions for me, please feel free to email me at ellory@cigarscorelounge.com, and if you’re interested in cigars, we’d love to earn your business over at CigarScoreLounge.com.