Cigar lounges burn a business niche in the Quad-Cities

His perfectly shined shoes cover green dress socks, hidden under tailored pants. A pressed, white button down shirt is covered by a matching green vest and tie. The black suit jacket he wears shifts when he reaches for a cigar, and shined cuff links are visible on his wrist. His only other accessories are a wedding ring, round glasses and his signature beard.

“That’s the Wall Street in me,” he said with a smile. “I worked on Wall Street back in the early 90s and cigars were really, really popular back then. So I’ve been in it since that time as an afficionado.”

Fast-forward a few decades and the North Carolina native turned New Yorker moved to the Quad-Cities in 2010. After working in the area for some time, he went into business for himself when he purchased Cigar Social, 5161 Utica Ridge Road in Davenport.

“It kind of fell in my lap,” he said. “I bought the first locker membership, and ever since then it was my place to come.”

Six months after he became a member, the original owner Ryan Delf, asked if Ripley was interested in buying the business. Instantly, the answer was yes.

“I’ve always loved cigars and it’s an industry here where there’s not a whole lot of it. Especially at this level,” he said. “It really is a passion, and I get to turn that into a business.”

At the time Ripley moved to the area, the cigar market in the Quad-Cities was essentially nonexistent. It wasn’t until four years ago it began to establish roots.

“You had your tobacco outlets, you had your places where you could get your basics. But the actual aficionados didn’t show up until about (three) years ago,” he said.

When they showed up, they set up shop at 432 E. 4th Street in Davenport. Habano Cigar & Hookah Lounge opened in February, 2020. The lounge is set up into three distinct areas with an indoor space for smoking, an outdoor patio and a separate space for hookah.

A few blocks over in downtown Davenport, another cigar lounge opened up in September, 2020. Much like Ripley, becoming the proud owner of a cigar lounge fell into Eric Norton’s lap.

The owner of the Drawing Room at 320 E. 2nd Street, Norton doubles as an engineering team lead for Grace Technologies in Davenport by day.

He has been a cigar enthusiast since he was 18 and did a “deep dive” into the field at age 40. Norton studied everything from where the tobacco is grown to how the blends are created. Not too long after, he found himself in Central America on a cigar safari sponsored by Drew Estate, a Florida-based cigar company.

“It was a week long in the Nicaraguan fields where you learn everything from seed to sale,” he said. “It was all inclusive and I smoked like 39 cigars in three days.”

When he got back, he started talking to other business owners about opening up a lounge, but there was hesitation with Habano being around the corner and having opened already. Not too long after, Norton received a call from the 2nd Street building’s owners, asking if he would be interested in opening a lounge.

“It was always something that I wanted to do, but it came to fruition on its own,” he said.

The name inspiration for the lounge came from across the pond. Drawing rooms were a popular staple in British homes.

“It’s also a place you can retire to relax in a house,” Norton said. “And you draw in a cigar, so it’s a double meaning.”

Master of the craft

Cigar Aficionado is not only a popular magazine for cigar enthusiasts, but a self-appointed title. Those who reach this level have mastered the basics like smell, taste, lighting, cutting, Ripley said, and many learn from the magazine itself.

“It’s kind of like the Bible in a way,” he said. “We used to call the Wall Street Journal the Bible in the financial world. The Aficionado is certainly the Bible for this industry.”

Being well-rounded in the cigar world is important for Ripley and his five employees considering nearly 70% of first-timers ask for a recommendation. That may sound like a good question, but Ripley said its much more complicated than it appears.

“My first question to them is, ‘What are you looking for?’” he said.

A trained tobacconist, Ripley said, will know the origin and history of the cigar and how and where the leaves were grown. An afficionado will only be able to offer their opinion, but a tobacconist knows what questions to ask.

Ripley estimates he has 1,500 cigars in his shop and choosing the right one depends on a multitude of factors including: where and how long the person wants to smoke it, if they’re looking for mild or medium and what spirit they are pairing their cigar with.

Davidoff Cigars, for example, have an estimated smoke-time right on the box. The other answers are best from an expert and personal experience.

“I need a lot more information, and that’s really why the lounge is so unique. You can come here and take a chunk of that question away by sitting here,” he said.

Over on 2nd Street, Norton and two of his staff members are also trained tobacconists. They’ve received their certification through Tobacconist University and were the first three men in Iowa to do so, he said. With more than 700 different cigars in stock, that knowledge is crucial.

“(Tobacconists are) going to be able to walk through the different tobaccos, the regions, where they grow the plant, the different ways of harvesting the plant and why those harvesting and curing methods will give the cigar different flavor,” he said, providing an example of that knowledge. “Nicaraguan soils are generally going to be a little sweeter, but if you go to Honduran you’re going to have a little more earthy flavor."

Countries near the equator are best known for their cigars because of the climate and the soil. Cuban cigars are regarded as the best because of the climate but Nicaragua, Honduras, Central America, Mexico and the United States are all contenders.

Humidity also plays a large part in the flavor and production of cigars. To maintain those standards inside the lounge, owners replicate that with the use of humidors. At Cigar Social, Ripley has multiple stand up humidors filled with different types and varieties of cigars.

To expand his reach, he has teamed up with various business owners in the Quad-Cities to place small humidors in bars and restaurants that have outdoor patio space. Eddison’s in Bettendorf is one example.

Ripley receives a call when the supply is running low and restocks it accordingly. The humidor is stocked with a variety of options, acting almost like a vending machine.

Over at The Drawing Room, Norton was previously using large humidor cases but installed a walk-in this past fall.

“I just wanted to give people a selection. We are very member focused and want to build this up in the community,” he said. “We think that cigar smoking is a great hobby and its great for community.”

Anatomy of a cigar

Cigars have two ends: the head and the foot. The head is the part that the smoke is drawn through and is capped off. Before it can be smoked, the cap needs to be cut about 1/8 of an inch from the top. A faint line can be seen on the cigar, signaling where to cut. Cutting too deep causes the entire cigar to unravel. The foot, or bottom of the cigar, is the end that eventually gets lit.

A cigar has three main components: wrapper, binder and filler. The wrapper is the part that consumers see, and come in a variety of colors. Three of the most recognized are Connecticut, natural and maduro.

“Connecticut is very light, almost milky looking. Natural is more of a caramel color and then maduro is your dark. It looks like a piece of light chocolate,” Ripley said. “People have a misconception that the darker cigar is a heavy cigar, but not necessarily because of the tobacco that is in it.”

The Connecticut wrappers are harvested from the state they are named for and natural are grown in a variety of countries including the Dominican Republic and Ecuador. Maduro leaves are grown in Nicaragua, Honduras and Cuba and get their color because of the high altitude in those areas.

The binder is layers of tobacco that help to hold in the filler. Its responsibility is to uphold the structure and integrity of the cigar while it’s smoked. The filler is the tobacco in the center of the cigar, Ripley said, and is where the flavor and fragrance come into play.

Norton said the shape of the cigar also effect the way it performs. A parejo cigar is long and slender with a capped end. It keeps its shape from head to foot. A figurado, for example, can change in shape but generally tapers out at either end. Visually, the easiest way to spot the difference is figurados have torpedo or chisel shaped ends.

“All this goes into the quality. So the old question, ‘What do you recommend? Well (I need to know), what are you looking for?” Ripley said, listing several options: spiced, earthy, chocolate, cocoa, heavy chocolate with nutmeg infusion.

Ripley compares it to purchasing wine, saying a majority of people know they like red or white but not the fine details. Just like visiting a winery for a tasting, cigar lounges are able to offer a similar service.

“When people come into cigar lounges, they’re overwhelmed,” he said. “Literally, you come in and somebody will talk to you about what you like, cut it for you and off you go. Sit down and watch the game or whatever it is and you enjoy, you relax and unwind.”

Members-only jacket not required

All lounges in Davenport are open to the public during set hours. But for those who want a more personal experience, memberships are available.

Each lounge has different types of monthly memberships available but the most basic at each allows for 24/7 access to the lounge.

Ripley said this is most popular at Cigar Social during the winter months, because the luxury of smoking outside is eliminated with the cold. Members are allowed to bring up to three guests and have access to the lounge any time they want to smoke, watch the game or even use the business suite in the back. A room is set up with couches, a printer, mini fridge and poker table for members to use how they choose.

“Membership definitely has its privileges,” he said, adding the lounge even has a car service for members who purchase the first class membership.

The highest membership at both locations comes with the perk of a private locked humidor to store cigars in. Norton said that unlimited access is especially nice for customers enjoying the night life downtown.

From record shops and other retail to fine dining, the buzz in the newly dubbed “Motor Row” is bringing in a whole new range of clientele at The Drawing Room. Members include doctors, lawyers, business owners and teachers.

“I don’t think I’ve ever met a cigar smoker who was a real jerk,” he said with a laugh. “It just brings everybody together.”

Members at either lounge can bring in their own alcohol to enjoy, but owners can’t sell it to them due to Iowa’s food licensing policies and the Smoke Free Air Act. Although not convenient, Ripley said this allows each individual member to curate the experience they want to have.

“What we sell here is an experience,” he said. “It was not too long ago where there wasn’t anywhere to go because you couldn’t even leave your house. Now people are looking for a place where you come in and you have one thing in common when you walk through the door.”

That commonality, Ripley said, is obvious.

“Chances are they like cigars so you have something in common with anybody before you go any further,” he said. “You can come in here and you can make instant friends. It’s a lot like a bar without having to drink. But you can do that, if you want to.”

Creating a community

With thousands of cigars to choose from, its impossible to carry them all. Ripley said he refers back to Cigar Aficionado magazine often to see what they are promoting, and uses that as one resource. The other, is his own lounge.

“What I do, basically, is pay attention to what people are smoking,” he said. “But as soon as I get that (magazine,) I know exactly what they’re going to ask for.”

Ripley has multiple humidors in his lounge, and one is dedicated to Padron cigars, known as a premium brand. The company promises a 30-day turn around from “leaf to rolled,” he said, ensuring the cigar is fresh.

Outside of Davenport, the next closest cigar lounge is in Des Moines. On the Illinois side, a couple exist in the Rockford area but the vast majority are in Chicago and the suburbs.

Ripley said Davenport has created a small haven for cigar enthusiasts who come in from as close as Cedar Rapids and as far as St. Paul, Minnesota, when they’re driving through town. Norton has seen similar traffic and even residents in the area who are curious.

“It can be intimidating walking into a cigar lounge. You walk into the humidor, see all the cigars in there and you don’t know where to start,” he said. “People who say they don’t like cigars probably haven’t had a good cigar selected for them.”

Anyone from a beginner to an aficionado is welcome, Ripley said. While some are not quite sure what they want to smoke, others know exactly what they want.

Typically Ripley can satisfy any request with the stock he has, but occasionally he gets stumped. In that case, he calls one of the two downtown lounges to see if they have the specific cigar in stock.

“They’ll go there, they don’t have what they’re looking for and they’ll come here. And they’ll want something very specific,” he said. “The tins of cigarillos, a lot of guys like that. I don’t carry cigarillos, per say, but Habano does. So I’ll just get on the phone and call down there.”

Norton echoed that sentiment, saying he even trades memberships with Cigar Social. Even though they’re all in the same business, they all the have the same goal of creating a community.

“I think its important to note that rising tides raise all ships, especially in the cigar community because there’s not a lot of the general population that smokes cigars, and we’d like to grow that,” he said. “We have to fight over one piece of the pie. We’d rather share the whole pie.”

At the end of the day, it’s all about the customer.

“There’s plenty of room in the sandbox, there’s no doubt about it,” Ripley said.