We recently connected with Roslyn Stafford-Grady and have shared our conversation below.

Hi Roslyn , thanks for joining us today. So, naming is such a challenge. How did you come up with the name of your brand?

I was reading a cigar magazine and I read an article about smoking cigars in a Smoking Jacket. A bell went off in my head and I thought this was the perfect name for my Cigar Lounge.

Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers

I’m Roz Stafford-Grady, the 1st African American female to open a Cigar Lounge in DFW. I was introduced to cigars by my brother in law David Harrison in 2009 and it changed my life. I opened Smoking Jacket Cigar Lounge in 2016. We sell premium cigars. We have 24 hour access for our members. We have a Mobile Cigar Lounge that customers can rent for any occasion. We have an awesome staff and a friendly environment. We are a BYOB establishment. Our policy is purchase cigars from us or pay a cutting fee. We usually have live entertainment on the weekends.

Can you open up about how you funded your business?

I had to finance myself because the banks look at Tobacco and Acohol as a high risk business. I would advise anyone trying to get into this business to have excellent credit and money in reserve.

What do you think helped you build your reputation within your market?

Word of mouth has been my best advertisement. People come and enjoy their experience and they tell their friends. Being a woman owned business in this industry has definitely been a major factor in building my reputation.

Contact Info:

• Website: Www.smokingjacketcl.com
• Instagram: Smoking Jacket LLC
• Facebook: Smoking Jacket Cigar Lounge
• Twitter: Smoking Jacket Cigar Lounge
• Yelp: Smoking Jacket Cigar Lounge