Cigar retailers hope to set smoldering D.C. market ablaze

(Washington Post) In Naples, Fla., Rocky Patel has established for cigar smokers a sanctum called Burn Lounge where they can light up to their hearts’ content, imbibe spirits, and enjoy their guilty pleasure without worrying about being banished to the great outdoors.
Now he wants to open such a lounge on Capitol Hill next year, a space between 3,500 and 4,500 square feet that would accommodate up to 350 people, the capacity of his Florida lounge. Patel and a growing number of retailers say they see great potential in the Washington cigar market, and they are making moves to better cater to the region’s power brokers. Continued