“Our journey began with a simple vision: to create an oasis where the ancient ritual of cigar smoking can be celebrated and shared within a community of like-minded people,” the website states.

Visitors are pampered with decorative details “designed to convey a sense of timeless elegance. Plush seats, fine wood surfaces and atmospheric lighting create a warm and inviting atmosphere.”

Members receive access to private lockers for controlled cigar storage, special discounts and invitations to members-only events. A locker member pays $300 upfront and $99 monthly; a premium locker member also pays $300 upfront and then $125 monthly. Corporate lockers provide privileges for up to six people for an initial $1,000 and then $350 per month.

Refreshments include coffee, tea, lemonade and the option to bring your own drinks.

The address is 804 Austin Ave. and is the former home of the Adorn Boutique. Just a short walk away is Chip and Joanna Gaines’ Hotel 1928.

In January of last year, the Waco City Council lifted a ban on cigar lounges despite opposition from a host of health officials who said there was no effective way to prevent exposure to secondhand smoke.

Allsup’s, we hardly knew you. The chain’s first convenience store in Waco, which it opened less than a year ago, has gone out of business. Located at 315 S. University Parks Drive, in the shadow of Baylor University, it was the new prototype of Allsup’s Express that the company planned to open near college campuses.

It was small and had no gas pumps, but it sold Allsup’s famous burritos. One has to wonder if the construction and traffic delays along University Parks Drive in recent years caused the business to fall into obscurity. It converted the space previously occupied by 900 Degrees Pizzeria and raised the white flag, although the pizzeria remains mobile.

Allsup’s said in a statement that the company occasionally decides to “divest certain stores that do not fit our strategy and reinvest the proceeds in locations that enable us to provide a better customer experience.”

It’s worth noting that Allsup’s closed a store near the University of North Texas campus in Denton just six months after opening.

Either a strong wind recently blew through Waco, Window World is having a sale that will take your breath away, or the sales team is working overtime.

Whatever the reason, according to the latest newsletter from the local branch of the Associated General Contractors of America, new windows are being installed throughout Waco. The construction activity summary states that Window World received permits to install 199 windows and six doors between July 31 and August 6. The permits were valued at $193,775 and were for installation throughout Waco, not in a concentrated area that suffered severe weather.

According to Associated General Contractors reports, Window World obtains permits almost weekly, but this author has never experienced anything like this performance.

Stefan LeRow, a graduate of Texas A&M University and founder of Capstone Mechanical in 2005, makes a career change and decides to join the newly formed Cromwell Commercial Group as a real estate agent.

Capstone Mechanical, 7100 Imperial Drive, was acquired by private equity firm Reedy Industries in 2021, and LeRow remained as executive.

“LeRow is confident that Capstone Mechanical has a great team and is in good hands. The company looks forward to transitioning into commercial real estate and supporting the downtown transformation and related impacts to our city,” Cromwell Commercial said in a press release.

Dillon Meek, former mayor of Waco and now chief operations officer of Cromwell Commercial Group, wrote, “His impressive track record and extensive network will certainly strengthen our company’s presence in the industry.”

Cromwell Commercial Group, originally known as Jim Stewart Realtors, has a team with a combined 170 years of commercial real estate experience.

A Taste of Laos has moved from 1001 Enterprise Blvd., a Valero gas station at Interstate 35 and Hewitt Drive, to 108 Jim Drive in Hewitt.

The restaurant offers an extensive menu including Lao BBQ Ribs, Chicken Spring Rolls, Spicy Chicken Noodles, Grilled Teriyaki Chicken, Fried Pork Belly, Lao Street Loaded Fries, Spring Rolls, Asian Burrito and Fried Beef.

The Greater Waco Chamber of Commerce will host “The Value of Benefits: Creating a Better Workplace” on August 20 from 11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. at the Chamber’s headquarters, 101 S. Third St. The program will address how “strategic benefits can increase workplace satisfaction and productivity and give your company a competitive advantage.”

Admission is free for chamber members, but registration is required.

The perks unveiled at this event probably don’t match those revealed in a study by Preply, an online language learning site for companies. That site published a list of the most unusual perks for 50 large companies across a range of industries. A sampling of the top 20 includes baby formula delivery at X and Johnson & Johnson; a rooftop nature park at Meta; an on-site employee shopping center at Adobe, SAP, and Epic Systems; an on-site beauty salon at SAS; on-site car wash and detailing at Genentech; five-year sabbaticals at HubSpot; free coffee with a personal barista at Preply; housing allowances at Microsoft and Bain and Co.; unlimited vacation and a global rest week at HubSpot; an on-site rock climbing wall at Clif Bar & Co.; and an on-site mother-baby room at Pinterest and Epic Systems.

The Sonic at 3923 N. 19th St. looks suspiciously closed, which is not good for me since it is the closest to where I am.

“I just saw that the Sonic on North 19th is boarded up and the big sign out front is gone,” one reader emailed. “Looks like they’re closed for good. Surprising. I’ve eaten lunch there occasionally and there’s always been a reasonable flow of traffic.”

Sonic’s website states that the location is “temporarily closed.”

We hope it will reopen bigger and better than ever.