The Commissioners Cigar Lounge – Waterbury’s only cigar establishment – is holding a ribbon-cutting at 2 p.m. Friday for its new members-only VIP Lounge.
The 3,200-square-foot cigar lounge – which was founded in December 2021 by three long-time friends – is located at 350 Fairfield Ave., in the city’s Town Plot section.
Co-owner Felix Rodriguez told the Hartford Business Journal Thursday that the establishment will also celebrate with a live band at 6 p.m. Friday.
The VIP Lounge is located within an 1,800-square-foot area in the back of the establishment. It’s for members only and the goal is to “provide brothers and sisters a place to unwind and celebrate, particularly after the pandemic,” said Rodriguez, who declined to say how much membership in the VIP Lounge is.
Rodriguez said the VIP Lounge will be able to fit about 150 people, and all members will have access to a humidified locker.
Rodriguez, a 47-year-old former city police commissioner and Board of Education vice president, said the establishment sells about 10,000 cigars, primarily from Honduras, Nicaragua, the Dominican Republic and Puerto Rico. In total, about 150 different cigar brands are offered, Rodriguez said. The business also sells cigar accessories and, down the road, will sell items like baseball caps, hoodies and sweaters, he said.
Rodriguez co-owns the business with Cesar Aviles and Daniel Mina.
