Cigar connoisseurs flock to newly relocated venue The Lord's Cigar Lounge in Gosport
One of Gosport’s most eccentric businesses, which opened its doors two years ago, has relocated to a new site.
The Lord’s Cigar Lounge, in Gosport, opened its doors in May 2023 after owner, Mario Afuza, found himself a regular at a cigar lounge in Kent before moving to Hampshire.
The 44-year-old said after the lounge was a way of socialising during a turbulent time following the pandemic, prompting him to take a leap of faith and open his own venue.
After trading for the past two years, the lounge moved in September of this year , to a more intimate location, in Bemister's Lane.
Mario said: “During Covid I moved and found another cigar lounge in Kent called The Astoria and I met some friends and had a great time but then going home and smoking by myself, I realised something was missing - so I got to the point where I said why not give it a go and I went solo.
“Being such a niche business, you can’t look for customers, they find you so all you can do is try to provide a good service that people want to come back for.
“We have six or seven importers so they import the cigars I want into the country so I just go online and pick what ones I want.”
Since opening, Mario has secured a loyal supporting with many of his customers becoming friends who travel across Europe with him sampling cigars and trying out different lounges.