TWIS Asks: SRQ Cigars

Indian Beach Plaza is already a great place to grab a local craft beer, at Growler's Pub, but thanks to a new business, it's now also the perfect place to enjoy a boutique cigar. 30-year-old Robert Kindred, a Bradenton native, recently opened SRQ Cigars with the goal of creating a welcoming smoke lounge with a selection of boutique, local cigars.

"It's kind of like a craft beer bar," he says. "But for cigars."

He opened the shop in December after learning the cigar industry at a shop in Bradenton. As a recent addition, he'll be serving wine and craft beers to accompany your smoke, and he'll host a grand opening event at 6 p.m. Saturday, March 1.

How did you first get into cigars?

I worked at Comcast here for five years, and about a year-and-a-half ago, on my last day, a friend of mine called and asked if I would want to come work in sales at a cigar shop he worked at in Bradenton. I'd never really smoked cigars before then, and I didn't know much about them, but I just took my sales and marketing experience and applied it to cigars. I learned pretty quickly, and the cigar industry is amazing to me. I love the culture that surrounds it. It's small, everybody knows everybody, and for the most part, everyone gets along. I knew it was something I wanted to do for a career.

What did you do to learn the industry so quickly?

That's just sort of part of my personality. I jump in with both feet with anything new, and I'm a quick learner. I was actually surprised at how quickly I developed a taste for it and was able to pick up the differences between the wrappers and everything.

How did you decide to open SRQ Cigars?

Me and my friend from the Bradenton shop decided we wanted to do something more. We had an opportunity to buy the shop we were working at, but that ended up not working out. So, I decided to jump in and open my own. I signed the lease here in November and opened at the end of December.

What type of atmosphere did you hope to create here?

I wanted to make it as relaxing and inviting as possible. I wanted to appeal to a wider variety of people. Some smoke shops are a little more exclusive about what you can and can't smoke inside. A lot of them don't allow you to smoke flavored wrappers or pipes inside, but I want to be more welcoming than that. I know with my location, I'll have a  lot of newer smokers coming in, because of the colleges, and I want to be able to make them feel as welcome as the more experienced smokers. I want to promote that culture that I first fell in love with.

Tell me about your selection.

I have mostly boutique cigars and a lot of things that aren't available in Sarasota. You can sort of compare it to a craft beer bar, but for cigars. I like to support smaller, boutique cigar makers and local Florida brands. I think we have the best selection of lancero-sized cigars in the area, which is the size a lot of aficionados enjoy.

What's one cigar you never get tired of smoking?

The Room 101 Daruma Mutante. It's one of the first cigars I fell in love with. It has a pretty strong, complex flavor that stays consistent the whole way through.

What's your favorite way to enjoy a cigar?

Any way you can. As long as you can set aside the time to enjoy it, then go for it.

If you could share a cigar with anyone, living or dead, who would it be?

Mark Twain. He was an avid cigar smoker, and he had a lot of brilliant things to say. He had so many great cigar quotes, too.

Speaking of that, why do you think cigars have a certain mystique that makes them attractive to people?

I think Twain was the one who said that cigarettes are a habit, and cigars are for pleasure. Any time you're smoking a cigar, it's a time when you're relaxed and taking the time to enjoy yourself. I think we also associate cigars with rich or successful people, so there's a sense of luxury about them.