Cigar Bars Finally Allowed In Louisville
For many years now, the city of Louisville has created an inconvenient dilemma for cigar lovers, particularly those who visit for Kentucky Derby week. Horse racing and Bourbon are deeply intertwined with the identity of Louisville, both of which have an intrinsic connection to cigars, yet, for nearly two decades it has been illegal to smoke anywhere indoors within the Louisville city limits. That has largely pushed cigar-smoking tourists out of the state, to smoke-friendly establishments in nearby Southern Indiana. But ahead of this year’s Derby, the Louisville Metro Council decided to pivot, passing an exemption to the non-smoking ordinance that will finally allow people to fire up indoors and smoke in peace in Louisville cigar bars.
The ordinance was sponsored by Councilmember Anthony Piagentini of the 19th District, who introduced similar legislation in the past. The bill passed definitively in the Metro Council last Thursday and Louisville Mayor Craig Greenberg has signaled that he intends to allow it to become law on April 24.
The exemption is solely limited to cigar bars, and excludes traditional cigar and tobacco shops that don’t hold a liquor license. The ordinance defines a cigar bar as one that meets the following criteria:
- Holds a valid quota retail drink license for the on-premises consumption of alcoholic beverages;
- Generates at least 15 percent of its gross income from sale of cigars, pipe tobacco, paraphernalia and accessories related to the consumption of cigars and pipe tobacco, plus income from the rental of humidors;
- Does not knowingly sell products or services, or permit entrance to the premises, to persons under 21 years of age;
- Does not permit the use of electronic cigarettes or vapor products or the smoking of products other than cigars and pipe tobacco inside the interior space of the cigar bar.
The cigar bars will also need to obtain an annual license, make sure smoke doesn’t enter neighboring places of business, provide smoke-free areas for deliveries and place a notice outside the business declaring that smoking is allowed inside.
Some may remember that a bill (HB 211) was introduced in the state legislature earlier this month that would allow for the creation of new cigar bars in the state of Kentucky, including the city of Louisville. The bill, should it pass, would essentially overrule local authority across the state. HB 211 applies to the entire state of Kentucky, but it was clearly taking particular aim at Louisville. Even with the passage of this local ordinance, the push to pass HB 211 is expected to continue, as there are more jurisdictions in Kentucky that could benefit, and need, cigar bar exemptions from strict anti-smoking legislation. The two pieces of legislation, the passed local ordinance and HB 211, obviously play off of one another. It is likely the state proposal influenced the emergence of the city ordinance, and now, the passed Louisville ordinance, in what was likely the biggest hurdle in the state, should only favorably serve the future prospects of HB 211. Currently, the bill sits in a Senate committee after passing in the state’s House legislature.
The Louisville Tourism agency was also part of the push behind this ordinance, illustrating the compelling argument for its need. “We know from countless conversations with visitors that there is demand for a venue where they can enjoy a premium Bourbon alongside a cigar,” reads the official statement from the agency. “Currently, guests looking for this experience are leaving Louisville and taking their business to Southern Indiana, which puts our hospitality industry at a disadvantage.”
Given Derby week is less than a month away, one might assume that’s not nearly enough time for an establishment to open up as a cigar bar, especially given all of the specific parameters required for compliance. But there is one spot in Louisville that was already set-up to run as a full-fledged cigar bar—they were only missing a legal exemption.
Louisville Cigar Company, owned by Josh Pickett, opened in late November of 2024 in a historic house in the Highlands neighborhood of Louisville. Since its opening, the establishment has been operating essentially as a Bourbon bar and cigar retailer, with patrons only able to smoke outside in the back. Now Pickett is ready to allow his patrons to smoke inside.
“Louisville and the surrounding areas are so hungry for a place to commune and enjoy cigars,” says Pickett. “We had people sitting out in turkey hunting outfits in sleet, snow and rain outside smoking cigars on couches.” From the beginning, Louisville Cigar Company has had all the trappings of your typical cigar bar—a large walk-in humidor, ventilation systems, multiple bar and lounge areas—but it just couldn’t be legally enjoyed as such. “I opened with a hope and a knowledgeable idea that there is change in the whims,” says Pickett, who called the move a “grand leap,” considering he opened up shop banking that a cigar bar exemption would soon come.
He says even without this legislation in place, the majority of his sales still come from tobacco, but that most visitors have been those in town for work, as the locals have been holding out for change. “We have so many locals that are legitimately like ‘we’re waiting until we can smoke indoors because we’ve never been able to,’” he says.
Now Pickett’s big risk is set to deliver a massive reward. The Kentucky Derby, and all of the tourism that comes with it, is less than a month away and Pickett will have the only operational cigar bar within the Louisville city limits. Not only will his spot be ready come Derby time, he says they’ll be ready to hit the ground running the very second this ordinance goes into effect at 4 pm on April 24. “We built this place for this,” says Pickett.
It wasn’t just all luck though, Pickett consulted with Louisville Metro Council members and State Representatives “for a while,” he says, both on the local ordinance and HB 211. He has actually been friends with State Representative Chris Lewis, the man who introduced HB 211 in the state legislature this year, for 30 years. Representative Lewis connected him with Councilmember Anthony Piagentini, who led the charge for the Metro Council’s ordinance. But even with Pickett’s lobbying efforts, the move was still largely a shot in the dark.
Louisville Cigar Company now holds the advantageous, first-mover position, but Pickett expects, and welcomes, more competition in a city that has been yearning for indoor smoking. “I would appreciate other people trying to emulate what we did and what we have done,” he says. “But it was not easy.”
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