WEBSTER GROVES, Mo. -- Harold Alcorn said the cigar lounge in his Conoco gas station is a new concept. Alcorn sells cigars at other stations he owns, but opening a cigar lounge seems to be a breakthrough for a gas station, according to a report in the St. Louis Post-Dispatch.
At the Webster Groves, Mo., station, cigar lovers can relax in comfortable sofas and chairs and can watch a 48-inch plasma HD TV, said the report. The pungent aroma of cigar smoke fills the surroundings. When another cigar is needed, the smoker can get one from a walk-in humidor.[image-nocss]
You don't have to buy gasoline to enjoy the lounge, which is open from 6 a.m. to 9 p.m. Monday through Friday, from 8 a.m. to 9 p.m. Saturday and 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. Sunday.
Alcorn said the cigar smokers attracted to his lounge range in age from 19 to 75. The most expensive cigars in his humidor range in price between $4 and $6 each; some of his cigars are sold for $1.50 each. He says some smokers start with a milder cigar before seeking a stronger cigar with a fuller flavor.
The lounge is based on his principle that people smoke cigars as a social outlet, he told the newspaper.
In addition to gasoline and cigars, the station has a food shop, managed by Cindy Wilson, who expects that the lounge will increase business.
Alcorn said if the lounge in Webster Groves continues to be successful, he may open a similar lounge at his station in Washington, Mo. Another station he owns in south St. Louis County doesn't have enough space for a lounge, he said.
Humidors are kept at a temperature between 70 and 72 degrees, Alcorn told the paper, and the readings are checked daily.
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