Up & Coming Weekly

DECEMBER 23-29, 2009 UCW 13 WWW.UPANDCOMINGWEEKLY.COM A Passion That Goes Up In Smoke by KAREN POPPELE What could Winston Churchill, Whoopi Goldberg, Rudyard Kipling, Sigmund Freud, Che Guevara, Mikhail Baryshnikov and King Edward VII pos- sibly have in common? A passion for a good smoke. Cigars, that is. In fact, in choosing Churchill as num- ber one on its list of Top 100 Smokers in its November/December1999 issue, Cigar Afi cionado magazine relates the story that Churchill, who smoked eight to 10 Cuban cigars a day, asked that a special oxygen mask be made that would let him smoke in a nonpressurized cabin during a high- altitude fl ight. Such a mask was created. Who would say no to Churchill? Today, despite the pressure of politi- cal correctness, potential health risks and upcoming legislation that goes into effect in January in North Carolina banning smok- ing in nearly all restaurants and bars, cigar lovers may still enjoy the pleasure of their predilection. Private clubs and cigar bars are exempt from the no-smoking restric- tions, and Kelly Rosser and his wife Sandy, of Highlander Cigar Co., located at 308A Hay Street, offer cigar smokers of the Fayetteville area not only a selection of fi ne cigars and pipe tobacco, but also opportu- nities to enjoy them with other enthusiasts in Historic Downtown Fayetteville. Rosser, formerly with the Cumberland County Sheriff's Department and now working in Raleigh as a police offi cer, opened his storefront downtown the last weekend in September during the Interna- tional Folk Festival. "I started smoking cigars about 10 years ago, and I've got a friend who owns a cigar shop in Southport. I plan on retiring from police work in another six or seven years, and I've wanted to get into cigars, and he suggested that I go ahead and get my license. Along with the store, over the past six years I've been doing cigars at golf courses, restaurants and nightclubs, putting in humidors and going around on my days off and restocking them. And that's how I got into it, and I guess one of the reasons that we decided to go ahead and do this now instead of waiting until I retire is because in January, the law changes, and that will cost me a lot of my whole- sale customers." After consulting with his wife and the owner of the previ- ous shop, Neces- sary Things, Rosser bought the inventory of the convenience store and added the retail option to his own business. "We're slowly turning it more from convenience store items to tobacco. We started with the cigar and cigarettes, and now we've added pipe tobacco and some chewing tobacco. We'll start adding accessories, pipes, humidors, lighters, cutters." And of course, Rosser offers the Cigar and Pipe Club. "What we do is have people who want to, come in and give us their e-mail, and we send them e-mails with cigar specials. Every Thursday night, if the weather permits, people come out, and we bring out some ex- tra chairs and talk cigars. We have extended hours on Thursday, Friday and Saturday nights, and we're open for First Friday and all the special events downtown." "We'd like to expand the customer base over the next couple of years and then fi nd a larger space down here and have a smoking lounge." And while cigar smoking is generally associated with men, Rosser acknowledges that his clientele includes "more women than I would have thought." "We're starting to see more women. A young lady stopped by this morning. She'd just started smoking, and she wanted to ask some questions about cigars and light- ers. The only difference I see is that they go for a smaller cigar." Rosser carries a nice cigar selection that he intends to expand. His best sell- ers include Rocky Patel, Cohiba, Arturo Fuente and Romeo y Julieta cigars. "I carry fi ve or six different kinds of the Romeo y Julieta. I also get a lot of requests for Acid cigars (Drew Estate). I would have thought it would have been a 20-something cigar, but all ages come in and ask for them." "My favorite all-round cigar is the Padrón 1964 Anniversary Series." And while no tobacconist today can offer –– or could offer in the past for that matter — the "really good fi ve-cent cigar" Vice President Marshall declared the coun- try needed in the early 1900s, Highlander Cigar Co. does offer custom gift packs, gift sets and accessories perfect for those cigar afi cionados on your holiday shopping list. 910.321.0123 910.321.0123 FIREANTZHOCKEY.COM FIREANTZHOCKEY.COM 910.321.0123 FIREANTZHOCKEY.COM • All Kids 12 & Under - $5.00 • Tickets Still Available Home Games Home Games Home Games Teddy Bear Toss Night Teddy Bear Toss Night to beneÀ t the Cumberland County Area Fire Departments Saturday, December 26 Puck drops at 7:35pm VS Dec. 31 VS VS Jan. 7 & 8 VS Puck Drops at 6pm The The FRESH CAFE The FRESH CAFE Good Food...Naturally SM Now Now Offering Offering Now Offering FRESH EXPRESS FRESH EXPRESS Downtown Lunch Delivery* Call 910-323-4100 to place order and we'll bring it right to your desk fast and fresh! DELIVERY AVAILABLE Mon-Fri 11am - 3pm *Minimum order of $15 required/18% gratuity will be added. 21 2 Hay St. • 9 1 0-323-4 1 00 21 2 Hay St. • 9 1 0-323-4 1 00 21 2 Hay St. • 9 1 0-323-4 1 00 21 2 Hay St. • 9 1 0-323-4 1 00 KAREN POPPELE, Contributing Writer COMMENTS? 484-6200 ext. 222 or editor@upandcomingweekly.com Kelly Rosser

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