lighting fee

[sgoselin]

Ever since May 5 Boston has been smoke free (all restaurants and bars). Today I went onto the site for Cigar Masters, one of a couple of places left in Boston where you can still smoke. They have instituted what they are calling a "lighting fee". If you bring in your own cigar instead of buying one of theirs there will be a $10.00 fee per cigar per customer. Very enterprising indeed. The justification is that to maintain their smoking status they must show the right ratio of business between tobacco products and food and liquor. Cigarettes are exempt.

[drc]

Originally posted by sgoselin
Very enterprising indeed.

My gut reaction to this was, those bastards! I will have to grudgingly give them some credit for finding a way to turn this wacky legislation to their commercial advantage. Is their humidor reasonably well stocked? And properly maintained? Are their prices sensible, or are they gouging everyone every which way they can? Perhaps you could buy one of theirs, but smoke your own, unless they don't offer anything less than $10.

[Brandon]

I guess Cigar Masters is out of the question next time I'm in Boston.

[rkt]

Kind of a ripoff. Why don't they just charge a $10 cover charge at the door.

[poker]

Personally, its pretty rare that I would ever make myself at home in a cigar shop that makes its business selling cigars and smoke my own cigars without buying something. Its just the way I am I guess.

Granted a 10 buck charge per cigar lit is extreme. Im willing to bet their client base will dwindle downward as a result.

[Matt R]

I have heard rumblings of this type of stuff going on in Chicago too. Ditkas has a "cutting" fee, but I'm not sure what it is, pricewise.

[sgoselin]

Poker, I agree about a cigar shop, but this place is a bar that sells cigars. Historically they have not expected you to buy their cigars and many, if not most, people do not. I would never go into a shop and light up one of my own cigars.

[poker]

Ahhhh ok Steve. I was under the initial impression it was a cigar shop/lounge type thing. My bad.

Seems strange a bar would charge a cutting fee for cigars when I assume only a very small percentage of its entire sales are directly related to tobacco while a majority is alcohol. Then again, nothing much suprises me now days LOL

[OnePyroTec]

tell 'em to put it on your tab

I have not been there, but my the guy who owns the cigar store the next town up, told me there is a $25 fee if you bring your own to a few places in Vegas.

Steve, how many time do you think you can use the line that your from out of town to the cops if you go ahead and smoke in public???

OPT

[sgoselin]

The reason that I posted this topic with little editorial comment was to get some other reactions and also because I have mixed feelings. On the one hand their is the claim that in order to keep their smoking status, tobacco must comprise a certain percentage of their sales. That is why we can still smoke at a few establishments. The claim is that if too many people bring their own then the sale of liquor and food will exceed the right percentage. If this is the case it is certainly a reasonable approach. On the other hand this place's business has increased dramatically due to their unique status. You now need a reservation just to get in a lot of the time. The $10.00 per cigar fee could also be gilding the lily. I just do not know. Either way it peeves me that one of the few places that I can now smoke in Boston requires me to pay to smoke my own cigar on top of paying top dollar for a drink. I guess this is the future. Maybe we should begin to look into private clubs. I would rather pay dues to have a place to smoke then to be taken advantage of.

It's me cigartexan, this seems to be the only temp. fix to post.

I'm torn on the subject myself Steve. If I were a bar owner, I would do the same, but never would I charge over a buck a stick.

I have been looking into the private club deal. We have some chitty bills about to be passed here as well and I thought Texas would be the last holdout. If this thing passes here, opening a private cigar club will be the first thing I do. I know I can't loose

Jack

[robmcd]

nobody mentioned corking fees... i get a little upset with that notion, but i put up with it. on the other hand, i didn't smoke a cigar last week because there was no convenient place to smoke inside and the weather wasn't conducive to smoking outside. i think i would have been glad to pay a few bucks, but not $10, to smoke inside the hotel bar.

[Brandon]

You should have went to the Embassy Suites off the highway. I was staying there in Piscataway, and they have a cigar friendly lounge in the atrium.

[robmcd]

Originally posted by Brandon
You should have went to the Embassy Suites off the highway. I was staying there in Piscataway, and they have a cigar friendly lounge in the atrium.

ha! i was in the sheraton right next door. i didn't have much free time, but i would have had a quick drink and smoke at the end of the evening (a few nights anyway). where were you working?

[Brandon]

I was working at a Chevron asphalt plant in Perth Amboy. I got a room close to Newark and decided to check out the next day. LMAO I took a drive down the highway and the Embassy suites looked safe. LOL