Jump to full article: North County (CA) Times, 2008-04-03
Author: NICOLE SACK - Staff Writer
Intro: They already had the cigars, but Wednesday, the members of Zarka Cigar Lounge had further reason to celebrate as the club's request to sell beer and wine on the premises gained the Planning Commission's approval.
The commission voted 4-1 to approve the application from the private club at 28120 Jefferson Ave.
For more than a year, the owner has worked to attain the license to serve beer and wine inside the lounge, where members pay up to $600 per year to have a place in which to puff on fine stogies.
The indoor smoking hasn't been an issue at the club, which has been operating since May with a "retail tobacco shop exemption" from indoor smoking restrictions under the California Labor Code.
. . .
Abou said he has about 100 yearly members and an additional 20 monthly members who relax in the mahogany lined lounge on leather couches while watching one of the eight flat screen televisions. Members must be 21 years or older.
Nearly 70 of those members packed into City Hall on Wednesday to show their support for the beer and wine sales. . . .
"Over the years, smokers have seen a lot of our privileges taken away in the state of California," he said at the meeting. "There are not a lot of places left where we can have a cigar and have a drink."
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