A cigar lounge could be coming to Chinatown, reports Washington Business Journal. Rocky Patel, founder of the cigar manufacturing company by the same name, is trying to open Burn by Rocky Patel at 477 H St. NW. He already runs another Burn lounge in Naples, Fla.
According to the liquor license application, the three-story lounge inside a former bank building would seat 250 but accommodate a total of 350 occupants. There would be entertainment and a DJ, along with food and alcohol. The Naples location has an extensive bar menu with an emphasis on Scotch.
Time will tell if the cigar lounge actually opens. D.C. banned smoking in bars and restaurants in 2006, but businesses can apply for an exemption if more than 10 percent of their annual revenue comes from the sale of tobacco products. Yet some Chinatown residents and business owners are opposed to the lounge, citing secondhand smoke concerns.