City OKs Jenuwine Cigar Lounge for Alcohol Sales

A cigar store in Royal Oak is about to become a cigar bar.

Once parking and other requirements are approved by the Royal Oak Planning Commission, customers at the Jenuwine Cigar Lounge, 27754 Woodward Ave., will be able to enjoy a Manhattan or snifter of brandy with their fine cigars, the Daily Tribune reports.

A task force studying downtown development opportunities recently cited a glut of establishments selling or serving alcohol, and suggested limiting such businesses, but Mayor Jim Ellison said the store is located on Woodward Avenue, not in the downtown district, which was targeted in the task force’s recommendations, Ellison said.

City Commissioner Jim Mahrle said he thinks the business adds value to the city. “This is a unique concept,” he said.

Owner Daniel Jenuwine reassured officials that the establishment won’t be a full-scale bar, but is “a unique breed.”

“A cigar bar is much different than a regular bar,” he said. “I’m not in the bar business, I’m in the cigar business.”

The action taken by the City Commission allows Jenuine to transfer a Class C liquor license from a cigar retail business in Troy to the Royal Oak cigar lounge. He also owns a similar business in Sterling Heights. Both serve alcohol.

At the Sterling Heights cigar lounge, the average drink per customer is 1.9, Jenuwine said. Police there said there haven’t been any problems associated with the establishment, the newspaper said.

Once the Planning Commission approves the changes, the lounge will be open from 9 a.m.-11 p.m. Monday-Wednesday; 9 a.m.-midnight, Thursday-Saturday; and 11 a.m.-8 p.m. on Sundays.