Nothing goes with pizza like a good…cigar?
That’s right! Ronnie Klingsberg, perhaps best known locally as owner of Ronnie’s Pizza ‘N Mo’ at the Boulon Center in Cruz Bay, has decided to start up another venture: his very own cigar club.
Stop by Ronnie’s Pizza ‘N Mo’ for top-notch cigars and ask about the new cigar club.
“Me and cigars go way back,” said Klingsberg. “I can’t even remember when I first got into them. The wife made me stop because she says they stink, but now, she has no choice.”
Klingsberg previously acquired cigars from friends who brought them down from the states or sent them in the mail, and he sometimes found them on St. Thomas.
“It’s not the perfect product, though,” he said. “Sometimes they’re dry.”
The local business owner was surprised to learn than many other St. John residents shared his passion for stogies.
“There’s a bunch of local people that you’d never know who smoke cigars,” he said. “They’re coming out of the woodwork.”
Klingsberg expects that the club will meet once a week at Ronnie’s Pizza after the business has closed for the day. Klingsberg learned that the recently enacted Virgin Islands law prohibiting smoking in and around all businesses can be legally circumvented with the creation of a members-only club.
“As far as I know, there’s an exception for private clubs,” said Klingsberg. “So as long as we’re not out in the street running around like crazy maniacs, and we’re following the rules, we should be covered as a private smoking club.”
The club will kick off with the Luca Del Toro cigar, a Nicaraguan Habano Hybrid created by a friend of a friend in Florida, Klingsberg explained. Sizes currently available include the El Rabo, which measures 6.75 x 44; the Toro Grande, 6 x 54; and the Toro Pequeno, 5.5 x 52.
“It’s just a nice, smooth cigar that’s not real harsh,” said Klingsberg. “It’s a good everyday cigar, with a perfect subtle sweetness and bold spice. It’s not a drug store kind of cigar; these are real cigars.”
Klingsberg hopes to eventually expand with different types of cigars, although he probably won’t venture into Cubans, which are “not worth the trouble,” he said.
He also expects to carry cigar paraphernalia like lighters and cutters, “because it’s fun,” said Klingsberg.
“We’re tossing around crazy ideas for a name for our club, and I’ve got a few friends working on logos and things for T-shirts,” he said. “We’re just a bunch of crazy cigar smokers who want to hang and have a nice comfortable place to get together.”
The club should be up and running soon, and anyone who is interested can contact Klingsberg at the pizza shop at 693-7700. The cigars are currently for sale there, and can be purchased any time.
