Only in Tampa: A cigar lounge in a place youâd never expect â a historic church
Historic Tampa church transformed into a cigar lounge
and last updated 2021-04-05 08:06:53-04
TAMPA, Fla. â A 115-year-old church is getting a new life under a haze of smoke.
Services haven t been held at the First Congressional Church for decades. The old building is now getting a new life from some ambitious entrepreneurs.
Tampa is known as the cigar capital of the world. That is what led cigar aficionado Angela Yue to move from California to Florida. California is just not the most conducive place to have a business, let alone a tobacco-centered business, and Tampa being the cigar capital of the world, this is the most appropriate place to be, Yue said.
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They worship cigars at a historic Tampa church building
The 114-year-old First Congregational Church building is now Grand Cathedral Cigars.
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Grand Cathedral Cigars, a cigar lounge located inside the former First Congregational Church, a historic building in Tampa Heights. [ MARTHA ASENCIO RHINE | Times ]
Updated Mar. 17
TAMPA â A religious service has not been held in the 115-year-old First Congregational Church building for decades.
But it still feels like a place of worship, with the deity being Arturo Fuente, the international cigar company rooted in Tampa.
Fuente cigar labels are displayed on stained glass windows.
Fuente family photos adorn wall space throughout the four-story, 8,000-square-foot building.
Who said that? | 3/17/2021
Steven Shlemon
Shlemon is membership coordinator for Grand Cathedral Cigars, a cigar shop and lounge built inside the 115-year-old renovated historic First Congregational Church building. It opened in January.
Located at 2201 N. Florida Ave. in Tampa Heights, the first floor boasts a full bar, outdoor patio, walk-in humidor, gift shop and lounge area. It’s open to the public Sundays through Thursdays from 10 a.m. to 10 p.m. and Fridays and Saturdays from 10 a.m. to 11 p.m.
The second through fourth floors include a sports bar, private cigar lockers, conference rooms and a private party room in the bell tower. Those are open 24 hours a day for members only.