Connecticut Cigar Shops Now Eligible For Liquor License, Restrictions Apply
More cigar smokers in the Nutmeg State will be able to order a drink and light up in the same establishment. Connecticut Governor Ned Lamont has officially signed SB 905 into law, allowing alcohol-serving cigar bars to return to the state for the first time in over 20 years. The bill was first proposed in January and passed in the state legislature with strong bipartisan support earlier this month, with 111 votes in favor to 38 against in the state House of Representatives, followed by a 29-7 vote in the Senate. SB 905 will go into effect July 1.
Various entities helped push the bill through the legislature, including industry advocate Premium Cigar Association (PCA), alongside local players such as the Connecticut-based lobbying firm of Kozak & Salina and cigar shop owners throughout the state. Connecticut tobacconists have been unable to apply for liquor licenses since the passage of Connecticut’s 2003 Clean Indoor Air Act. The 2003 legislation, among other things, barred the creation of new cigar bars and grandfathered in a few already in operation at the time, most of which have disappeared. Just one Connecticut cigar bar with a liquor license remains, the Owl Shop in New Haven.
Though the longtime cigar bar will soon have some company, it will be in a limited fashion. Since the bill was introduced earlier this year, SB 905 was ultimately narrowed in scope to pass through the state legislature.
“It seemed that members of the House and Senate wanted to gauge how the bill would be implemented and received. It sets a solid precedent for a pilot effort so that broader measures may be considered in the future,” said Glynn Loope, PCA’s director of state advocacy.
The legislation is seen as a “pilot effort” because of a few key, restricting parameters included in the bill’s language.
The only cigar shops that will be eligible to apply for a liquor license are those which have been in business since at least December of last year. Any shops that opened in 2023 would be ineligible for application.
Additionally, and perhaps most importantly, shops eligible to apply for their license must be “located in a municipality with a population of at least 80,000 and no other tobacco bar.” In Connecticut, only seven cities have a population of 80,000 or more, thus the new bill essentially allows for only seven new cigar shops to apply for a liquor license to become an operating cigar bar. For now, those located in jurisdictions with a population under 80,000 will not be eligible.
The remaining parameters to meet eligibility are a little more straightforward. The cigar shops will need to generate at least 60 percent of its total annual gross sales from tobacco products. The shops must provide health coverage to cigar bar employees and their dependents. Plus, only cigars and pipe tobacco are permitted in cigars bars, no cigarettes or chewing tobacco. There are also specific ventilation requirements and other common, status quo qualifications.
As of now, it’s unclear how long the application and approval process will take.
The PCA is hopeful for a broader framework in the future for Connecticut cigar shops, as well as the introduction of similar legislation in other states in what has already been a busy year for the cigar industry.
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