A little food, a lot of cigars
| Smoked meats out, smoking cigars in…. |
After sitting empty for well over a year, the free-standing building at 13700 Metcalf — the former location of a third-rate steakhouse called Fritz Co. Grille and, before that, a short-lived Macaroni Grill — has a new tenant and a completely different focus. Military-loving Kendall Culbertson opened the Johnson County location of The Outlaw Cigar Company in December; his North Kansas City location has been in business for 13 years.
Culbertson gutted the building to create what he calls the largest cigar store in the United States: the 7200-square foot spaces boasts a well-ventilated smoking lounge with comfortable chairs and three TV screens and huge humidor room filled with fragrant stogies including a 32-year-old Partagas cigar that retails for $60 — that’s for a single cigar, not a box.
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| Kendall Culbertson and his cigar stash |
There’s a kitchen area, although Culbertson and his staff don’t serve food: patrons are permitted to bring in their own favorite beverages and snacks. On Thursday evenings, however, The Outlaw Cigar Company offers a Pizza and Poker Night beginning at 4 p.m. The $5 donation goes to charity and the poker game starts at 7 p.m.
And there will be a lot more food — “about 800 pounds of food, including a roast pig,” said one employee — this Saturday, when cigar celebrity Charlie Torano of Torano Cigars is the store’s featured guest. “He won’t be lecturing on cigars, but meeting people and talking about cigars with our customers who are coming in for a good time,” said Culbertson.
