Cafe, bar or nightclub? Confusion and frustration surrounding Sarasota cigar bar lingers

To assign just one word describing the Corona Cigar Co. has proven a tough task.

Functionally, the downtown lounge at 22 N. Lemon Ave. is close to a bar, but that doesn’t quite cut it: Corona Cigar specializes in high-end cigars and top-shelf whiskey, complete with a VIP area and a modest dress code. And per city language, Corona Cigar’s full liquor license classifies it as a nightclub.

But one look at owner Jeff Borysciewicz’s business, he said, and it’s clear the place is definitely not one.

“There’s no dancefloor, there’s no disco ball, there’s no DJ,” Borysciewicz said. “We’re in a category that’s not true to what we are.”

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The gray area Corona Cigar occupies has caused confusion among residents and businesses. Its approval from the city and the lingering debate surrounding its operations represent the identity crisis in Sarasota’s downtown core — one that calls the city's roots as an elegant arts and culture hub into question.

At the center of the debate is the lounge’s outdoor seating, which is permitted only for businesses classified as sidewalk cafes. It’s another label Borysciewicz said Corona Cigar doesn’t fit but had to adopt anyway.

He submitted a menu offering a charcuterie board and light bites to secure the café designation, which the city approved in September. The lengthy approval process — which spanned almost two years from the business submitting its initial site plan — left permits and documents in limbo and saw the business jump through superfluous hoops to open, he said.

“You guys have a criteria here that’s impossible to satisfy,” Borysciewicz said. “That’s not normal procedure for businesses to get held up that long.”

Opponents raise concerns

Borysciewicz isn’t the only one with frustrations: Corona Cigar’s opponents argue the business’ seating approval, which fosters outdoor smoking that may cause adverse health effects, never should have happened in the first place.

Kelly Franklin, a vocal opponent of the outdoor seating approval, said the commission neglected resident concerns and prioritized profits over public service in giving Corona Cigar the go-ahead.

“I feel betrayed that the processes seem to be skewed toward supporting individual entrepreneurs rather than the economic health and well-being of the city,” she said.

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With the ongoing public debate, its future operations downtown are still a hot-button issue.

At a Sarasota City Commission meeting Oct. 16, Commissioner Debbie Trice questioned whether Corona Cigar’s food menu was legitimate. The menu — specifically crafted for the Sarasota location — isn’t accessible on its website, and Trice said she wasn’t sure if the food was made available to customers.

“It’s like an outdoor bar, and they don’t serve food,” Trice said. “I don’t understand how it’s within code and how we enable it to continue.”

Opponents have taken issue with both the head-scratching café definition and the potential health impacts of the business.

Cigar smoke, though not inhaled like cigarettes, has similar effects, according to the CDC, and any secondhand smoke exposure can pose a cancer risk. Though smoking outdoors is legal in Florida, residents like Franklin feel the city should step in to prohibit it locally — starting with enclosing Corona Cigar’s operations within its four walls.

“I do not want to see our sidewalks become Corona’s bar or anyone else’ bar,” Franklin said. “That’s public airspace and public passage.”

Franklin and others have lobbied the commission to rescind the permit and put Corona Cigar back indoors.

Borysciewicz said the pushback unfairly targets his business and contradicts Sarasota’s sentiments about diversity and inclusion.

“They want to say, ‘Oh, it’s diverse and inclusive,’ and yet you try to run us out of business. Why? You don’t like guys smoking cigars,” Borysciewicz said. “We’re not smoking in your house. We’re not setting up camp in your house.”

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Borysciewiz and Corona Cigar’s patrons say it’s ultimately good for the city’s nightlife landscape, especially with its location next to the Sarasota County Area Transit transfer station downtown. Given Corona Cigar’s reputation as a classy nighttime stop, Borysciewicz predicts its high-end clientele will revitalize the area.

'A social experience'

City staff and the Lemon Avenue building’s owners encouraged Corona Cigar to set up shop in Sarasota, Borysciewicz said. As a frequent participant in local charities and causes — including Commissioner Erik Arroyo’s Mayor’s Ball benefiting his Sarasota City Foundation — he feels Corona Cigar has already made a positive impact.

Beyond the monetary boost, Corona Cigar is good for morale, Borysciewicz said. The lounge’s conversational atmosphere is a refreshing change from the isolation of modern times, he said.

“It’s a social experience,” Borysciewicz said. “At our place, people are sitting around and talking to each other.”

Despite the positive intentions, opponents still contest the implications.

Corona Cigar is open Monday and Tuesday from 9 a.m. to midnight, Wednesday and Thursday from 9 a.m. to 1 a.m., Friday and Saturday from 9 a.m. to 2 a.m., and Sunday from 10 a.m. to midnight.

With alcohol for sale and smoking encouraged into the early hours of the morning, opponents worry its activity will permeate Sarasota’s nighttime atmosphere.

More broadly, they fear Corona Cigar’s outdoor operations could signal the beginning of an alarming downtown overhaul.

Under current city language, outdoor bars are only allowed as accessories to hotels, motels or private clubs. With a zoning text amendment that would permit them as independent entities with minor conditional use approval up for debate at the Nov. 6 city commission meeting, Franklin and others feel Corona Cigar is the first in a line of potential establishments increasing activity in the urban core.

An uptick in outdoor nightlife spots like Corona Cigar sends the wrong message about Sarasota’s identity, Franklin said. More like it, she said, and the city fades into another Florida metro and loses its charm.

“The kind of vibrance that is being created is killing the golden goose,” Franklin said. “I want to not live in Ybor City.”

Contact Herald-Tribune Growth and Development Reporter Heather Bushman at hbushman@gannett.com. Follow her on Twitter @hmb_1013.

This article originally appeared on Sarasota Herald-Tribune: Pushback against Corona Cigar Bar in downtown Sarasota lingers