The Belton Journal
The owners of the Creekside Cigar and Sandbar Lounge held a grand-opening of their cigar lounge on March 12.
Creekside Cigar Lounge is located at 219 S. East St., Belton. Dwayne and Valerie Williams are first-time business owners, and are excited to be lighting up in Belton.
The husband and wife team decided to open the cigar lounge as a place where cigar enthusiasts can go to relax, listen to some blues music, watch TV, sit and enjoy a stick (cigar) and be around people who enjoy a good cigar. The lounge is equipped with WiFi and phone and computer chargers.
“We made the lounge aesthetically pleasing. The lights can be dimmed , the couches and chairs are soft and comfortable. We offer a self-serve bar where people bring their own bottle and choice of drink. Our regular customers can rent lockers to keep their bottles in, they provide their own lock. We want people to enjoy themselves. We’ve had customers stay for only an hour, and then there are those that stay a few hours. It’s not a problem,” Dwayne said.
The walk-in humidor at the lounge is where smokers want to be.
The smell of Spanish Cedar, and the aroma of different cigars, is part of the experience.
Creekside stocks a wide variety of cigars ranging from sweet flavored, to regular and then move into the full bodied flavor cigars for the avid cigar smoker.
Most of the cigars are grown in South America. Cigar tobacco is grown in larger quantities in Central America, including Mexico, Puerto Rico, Nicaragua and the Dominican Republic. Cigar tobacco can take three to four years of preparation before they are ready to smoke.
If you’re a first time cigar smoker, the Williamses will teach you how to prepare the cigar.
“We will show you how to light the cigar with a torch, toast the foot of the cigar and how to puff and draw the flavor from it. As the oils burn in the cigar, they work their way to your mouth, and as they mix, you get a different flavor out of it. So a cigar is like a good book. It’s telling a story,” Williams said.
On Mar. 15, Buck Brannaman, a world famous horse trainer and movie star, stopped by the Creekside Cigar Lounge. Brannaman played in the movie, “The Horse Whisperer”.
Brannaman was in town conducting a three-day training at the Bell County Expo Center when he heard about the Creekside Cigar Lounge.
“We love Belton, because it’s always open. There’s always events, car shows, entertainment, market days and fun things to do. The small businesses support each other. The foot traffic around the Gin Restaurant and the other restaurants is phenomenal. The old walls in the building have come down, and the new furniture is in. Cigar smoking is a culture that we would like you to be a part of.”
The lounge has an open invitation that husbands and boyfriends can be dropped off at the lounge, and they will provide the “Daycare.”
Dwayne and Valerie also want the ladies to know that they are welcome to come experience the culture too.
More information on the Creekside Cigar Lounge can be found on Facebook or by calling (254) 831-3131.
