Some of you may have noticed that my posting has dropped off over the past months. I haven't been attending the Google Herfs. I haven't been sending out my usual number of packages. Well I wanted to share with all of you the reason.
I had been meeting with a bunch of people on Monday nights for a herf during the summer. Starting in October, we decided to become an official organization. So the Fair Trade Cigar Club was born.
Here in Ohio, the smoking laws are much like many other states and are making it very difficult to have a public place to smoke. We however, have worked towards acquiring a building for use as a Private Club. We found a building to rent in a great location. We spent a lot of time, money, and sweat to renovate the building for our needs. So we made sure we had excellent ventilation, etc. We worked hand in hand with the city passing all sorts of codes and concerns over the purpose of the club.
In January, we officially opened our doors.
The Fair Trade Cigar Club offers it's members a brick and mortar experience regardless of how their cigars were purchased. We avail ourselves to the public through "guest" memberships at a small cost. Our full members have 24/7 access to the building as well as on site cigar and beverage storage . Every Monday, we continue to have our "Cigar Nite" where we commonly have over 20 members herfing. At the time of this posting we currently have 28 full members. It is a GREAT community of people as you would expect from cigar smokers.
As of last night I completed the first phase of our website. There is much more to come on the website and if anyone is wondering (based on the cigar band contest)....Yes, I did design the logo, and I am the web designer. Please come take a look at our site, learn a little bit about us, and if you are ever in the Cleveland area.....come visit us....
http://www.fairtradecigarclub.org/ (http://www.fairtradecigarclub.org/)
Look us up on facebok as well!!!
Wow! That sounds really awesome! Which we had something like that here... :smoker:
That is great! Next time I'm down that way I'll be sure to check it out!
That is very cool!.
Sounds great Pete! Good luck with it!
I also have it posted in the Cigar places section of the Board :thumbsup:
congratulations Pete, what a great idea. I would be interested in seeing how you worked out the membership fees to cover all the costs. Also all the other fees imposed, if any, on the club by the city. Might be interested in doing the same here.
I would be glad to try and answer any questions I can...you can also try our "Contact Us" section on the website and send us an email. Or simply send an email to info@fairtradecigarclub.org
I have heard several people mention they would like to try this...And to be honest, if successful, we haven't ruled out the option of expanding...LOL
I still owe you for a couple logos... :-(
Great job, Pete! I'm sure it took a lot of sweat, blood, and tears and no end of tearing your hair out trying to wend through local gubmint bureaucracy hurdles.
Sounds really awesome, great job. I hope everything goes successfully for you and the club.
Wow, that's just great. I'm sure all the time, sweaty and money invested are more than worth it. I can only imagine how cool it would be to have a private club where I could enjoy cigars and good cigar smokers company... I can only dream about it though.
How I wish we had something like that here but Canadian laws and Montreal bylaws would most definitely make sure something like that could not happen, no matter how much money and effort we'd put in.
We live in a society where smoking is demonized, I'd have less difficulty opening up a brothel :biggrin:
That is super cool, Pete.
That is awesome! It looks great and know your hard work is paying off. Great job! You guys were highly motivated and it shows in the work! Congratulations on your successful launch!
Sweet digs. What a great idea!
QuotePETE314 - 3/8/2014 12:11 PM
I would be glad to try and answer any questions I can...you can also try our "Contact Us" section on the website and send us an email. Or simply send an email to info@fairtradecigarclub.org
I have heard several people mention they would like to try this...And to be honest, if successful, we haven't ruled out the option of expanding...LOL
Franchise time ;-)
Pete gave us a virtual tour last night on the herf and the place looks great. Even a met of a few of the first members!
Good luck with the endeavor, Pete! :thumbsup:
Thanks for the props and well wishes!!! May be on my way up there in a few minutes....LOL
Very cool! Major congrats on having a vision & bringing it to pass.
Wow Pete! That's impressive brother!
I'm gonna be picking your brain real soon Pete! I have visions of something similar out here on my dad's ranch. Congrats to y'all!! :biggrin:
wow that's too cool. congrats
Thanks again guys...we really want this to be a successful venture. It is not without it's challenges....As a non profit, we have to be careful about our finances. While at the same time we need to have plenty of cash flow to cover our expenses, and debts, we also need to not make too much money (yeah it sounds ridiculous....right). Right now as we are just beginning, it hasn't been much of an issue, but as the word gets out we have to be careful and watch for any tax issues. We still have some upgrades to the club we want to make. When it warms up...the landlords are going to put in a mice big patio for us. We are going to have our own garden, and we may even grow some tobacco in the front. Lots of work done...lots of work to do...LOL!!!
Brian, like I said before...I will be glad to answer questions as best I can. And if I can't....you can also reach us by email at info@fairtradecigarclub.org
Very impressive. This is an idea that I see gaining popularity as more and more municipalities ban smoking.
Looking good, Pete! Thanks for giving us a "virtual tour" on our Google Herf Friday night and introducing us to some of your other members.