No Man Left Behind...

Today was a historical day in the short life, so far, of Third Street Cigar.  Our battle with the dust of construction and sanding of the floors has come to an end.  Impossible, until now, to keep clean we are at the point in the retail shop and Big Jack's lounge where dust will no longer be an issue.

Dave Smith, friend, cigar lover and floor refinisher extraordinaire, has labored tirelessly this week trying to get the retail and humidor floors to the point where they could be stained and coated.

Dave suggested that we simply put a Minwax coat of almost-clear stain on the oak floors of the humidor as the resultant color pretty much would match the color of the bare Spanish cedar.  He did this yesterday and followed with the first coat of poly this morning.

Needless to say, the floor came out beautifully. We should be able to put in place our "premier" cigar glassed-in display case in the humidor by week's end.

We should be able to poly the retail floorspace by Tuesday and have the subsequent coat cured by Thursday.  Then, it is Katy bar the door!  Finish with the baseboard, put in the Point of Sale counter, add the spots on the ceiling track lighting system and install the mural on the wall.  Our "Punch List" grows shorter by the day.

Jim Mackiewicz and his crew demoed the old staircase to the private lounge and raised the roof on the transition so we could get a full sized door in to the basement.  The roof, old and leaking, had to go anyway so we decided to make life easy and create a door that anyone could use -- not just the height-challenged among us.  The new staircase will have a handrail as per code and will look great when he is finished with this task.

Speaking of the basement, Bob Miller started with a good cleaning of our storage humidor.  This humidor will, naturally, be kept at 70% humidity and the temperature at 70F.  We have decided to go with the brick and stone walls but are coating them with a clear waterproofing solution to keep them clean and easy to clean.

This humidor will enable us to buy when the price is right and store unopened boxes of cigars in ideal conditions until needed.  We will have room for several hundred boxes of cigars in the storage humidor.  This also keeps our retail humidor from looking "junked up."  Many retail humidors today tend to resemble my then-teenaged-son's bedroom back in the day -- a hodgepodge of reserve stock as well as opened boxes almost to the point of shop owners having no real idea of what their stock really is.  Our barcode system of logging cigars in as well as out should give us a daily inventory as well as tell us which cigars are selling and which are not.  If a cigar does not sell, we will not stock it.  Of course, we will gladly order any cigar that an individual may want. 

Got the lights in Big Jack's lounge installed this week.  They are equipped with LED floodlight bulbs that will wash the art displayed on the walls.  John Henry's extensive collection of framed photographs of music artists taken at Toledo venues will adorn the walls -- as will a few of John's signed guitars.  John chose seventy images out of his collection of hundreds of rare photos -- many of which have never been seen by the public.

Scot Morehouse's daughter, Taylor, a local designer has been helping us out with our project.  Thank you, Taylor.

We were visited by the Arturo Fuente Cigar Rep this week.  It is almost getting to be trite mentioning what these gentlemen say when they see Third Street Cigar.  "Best cigar store and lounge in Ohio," was his first comment.   We look forward to a long and prosperous relationship with Fuente Cigars. 

The Buckeye Telecom folks were out this week too.  We now have WiFi and a phone number.  If you want to make note, the number is 419.441.0020.

Now for the big news!

But first a little backstory.

The Governors Inn in Maumee, built in 1836 and also known as the Old Plantation Inn at some time in its past acquired a wooden Cigar Store Indian.  A majestic statue of an old Indian Chief in full head dress, the indian standing over seven feet tall.

Enter Smedlap's Smithy, a local Waterville restaurant and watering hole (great food and even greater cocktails, just tell Nate that TSC sent you) -- and a stones throw from Third Street Cigar.

I will quote an excerpt from their website:

Saga of Smedlap's

The Saga of Smedlap
From Maumee to Waterville, 1793-2008

Smedlap Effingtass immigrated from Slippery Rock, Georgia in 1793, just two hours ahead of the mob. He finally settled near the mouth of the Maumee River. It’s a matter of record, this is the only settlement Smedlap ever made. Young Smedlap immediately set up a still and was supplying hooch to the Indians. During the Battle of Fallen Timbers, General Anthony Wayne came upon Smedlap and his enterprise. Our hero, sensing an opportunity to make a contribution to his country and to make a few bucks, invited the General to sample his wares. And to this day, he is still known as Mad Anthony Wayne. In 1836 after many manipulations, Smedlap had salted away a bundle and so constructed the commercial building, later known as The Old Plantation, and as of late, The Governor’s Inn.

One day (April 1, 1849, to be exact) Smedlap was down by the canal skipping stones in an effort to establish, for men of science elsewhere, the exact distance represented by a stone’s throw away. But his efforts were thwarted by a young lovely aboard a Waterville-bound canal boat. Casting aside his pile of skipping stones, Smedlap silently stowed away amongst the sleeping sheep snuggled in steerage.

As luck would have it, Smedlap was scented and a trifle repulsive to all but the young lovely, Quindora Metzberger, daughter of Throck Metzberger, Waterville’s one and only blacksmith.

Quindora had come home after a frantic letter from her mother that told old dad had tired of horses hooves and had made off with a hoofer from the local dance hall. Some say the object of his affection had round heels. Remember, it was April and young men and women’s thoughts turn to....well, you know. Smedlap became a Smithy and some several months later arrived upon the scene a symbol of their affection. Their son, Quincy, over the years pumped the bellows for ole dad in the horse parlor.

We skip a few years to the summer of 1976 (July 4th, to be exact) with Quincy’s great great grandnephew, Don Buckhout. After being involved in a water-logged boat venture, he decided it was time to follow in his uncle’s canal path to Waterville. Hence the tribute to Quincy’s father, Smedlap’s Smithy.

So began another tradition of fine food, spirits and fun in the old blacksmith shop in Waterville along the canal.

Don and Lee Buckhout are now both on more exciting adventures, but as all of us close to Smedlap know, his spirit is still with us and always will be. So no matter who might greet you at the door, the spirit of Smedlap will guide you to your table.

The Favorite family, much like Smedlap himself, immigrated to Ohio from various, numerous locales and finally settled in Waterville. In 2008 the Favorites decided to add their own touch to the tradition.

The tradition lives on, so enjoy!
Thanks, Jim

Smedlap's has something for everyone!
We feature our steaks, but really, evrything is good!
"Outstanding meals with a neighborhood feel"

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Smedlap’s Smithy Restaurant and Tavern 205 Farnsworth Rd Waterville, OH 43566 Phone: 419-878-0261 / 419-265-7523	Monday - Friday 11:30 AM - 9 PM Saturday 12:30 PM - 9 PM

The Indian Chief ended up at Smedlap's Smithy a number of years ago and today stands in the foyer of their restaurant.

John Henry was able to convince the owner,  Jim Favorite, that the Chief was really not happy at Smedlap's and longed for his traditional place and roll as a cigar store indian.

Last night, after copious amounts of fire water, John was able to strike a deal with Jim.  We are now the new owners of Smedlap's Indian -- if, in fact, anyone can ever be an owner of an indian.

Of course, Jim, being the consumate restaurantuer that he is, realizes that cigar smokers also eat.  We look forward, again, to a long and prosperous symbiotic relationship with Smedlap's Smithy.

I now leave you with a thought from Scot Morehouse today when he related that today was "Star Wars Day" in the USA.

"May the Fourth be With You!'