Copyright Charleston Post and Courier
FORT MILL — On the north side of Main Street, something smoky, aged and upscale is laying claim to an untapped market in Fort Mill. Charterhouse Cigar & Barrel, located at 237 Main Street, opened its doors last month to sell tobacco and soon spirits in the former downtown home of hot peppers and cheap drinks. “We're trying to kind of kick it up a notch or two, offer something that maybe hasn't been in Fort Mill yet,” Cody King, a part-owner of the business, told The Post and Courier. The cigar shop and attached whiskey cocktail lounge is the entrepreneurial endeavor of five locals. Over more than a few adult drinks and stogies on the patio of a nearby brewery, the men said they decided to go into business, filling a vacancy in the community and giving themselves somewhere to refine their craft of smoking and sipping. “My wife says, ‘Do what you do best, you might just get paid for it,’” said Carl Manco, a retired software salesman and partner in the business. Plans have been in the works for two years and are still progressing. The cigar shop opened in mid-October, and while a liquor license still looms for the cocktail bar, King said they hope to debut in a matter of months. The private, members-only cigar lounge is expected to follow sometime next year. The business features two neighboring storefronts. Cigars are sold from the former site of the Puckerbutt Pepper Company, and drinks will be served out of the old Tavern on Main next door. A patio out back will link the bar and cigar shop, but the lounges will be kept separate. “A lot of our guests like the idea of date night here without the smoke, hanging out with the fellas next door and smoking,” King said. “We think we can have a better offering to more people this way. Not everybody likes to deal with the smoke.” After a stint in the Army, King said he’s spent much of his life selling cigars and whiskey. When he moved to the area, there wasn’t another business this side of Charlotte serving the clientele. He first opened a pop-up shop to prove cigars would sell, then along with his business partners, decided to open up the store and add the whiskey pairing. “We felt like Fort Mill was a really up-and-coming area,” King said. “Hopefully we are catching it as the wave is going up.” The cocktail bar will lean heavily into class and quality. A massive overhaul transformed the dive bar into something you might see in a Kentucky rickhouse. The building’s aged brick was uncovered beneath a thick layer of plaster, and drop ceilings were removed for an industrial atmosphere of exposed beams and duct work. Small bites will be served alongside the handcrafted cocktail menu and fully-stocked bar, with a couple hundred different bottles, King said. “I see a lot of what feels like just duplicates of each other, a lot of the bars and restaurants are kind of all doing the same thing,” King said. The plan for Charterhouse is to do everything a little differently. Interest is already growing, even as cigars are all that is currently for sale. The business partners said they’ve heard from locals making plans for future nights out as they stroll through downtown. For now, they are matching customers with their smoking needs, selling everything a person needs to puff on one cigar or start a collection. King said he’ll be in the shop regularly helping direct anyone 21 and up to cigars with great flavor and complexity, that won’t blow out a newcomers palate, helping ease them into the hobby. “From my time as a bartender, it's similar questions for asking them a type of wine or whiskey they want — those keywords,” King said. “That is a big part of this business, having those conversations with people, getting an idea what they're looking for from a flavor profile standpoint and offering something that they maybe haven't had.”
