It Starts With a Smoke

Amar M. Patel has turned a small cigar shop into a hangout worth playing hooky for

Magnum's Cigars, Wine & Spirits - The Beginning

"It sounds like such a cliche, but it's all about customer service," says Amar M. Patel, the 29-year old owner of Magnum's Cigars in North Phoenix.

Before you read any further, know this: there are two misleading parts of this opening sentence. One—by customer service. Patel means more than being friendly; he’s talking about creating a seamless “lifestyle experience” that can last anywhere from five minutes to five hours. Two—cigars only tell a fraction of the story of what goes on at Magnum’s.

A while ago, Patel and his father purchased a fledgling cigarette shop at 7th Street and Union Hills and grew the business in the old-fashioned way—getting to know the customers. Eventually, they added cigars to the inventory.

“Our humidor was a joke—it was 50 square feet,” Patel recalls with a smile. “Two people couldn’t stand in it at the same time!”

When he was ready to expand, he spotted a diner across the strip mall and made an offer on the space. Patel says, “The night after we signed the deal, hammers started swinging,” and so began the journey toward what is today Magnum’s Cigars, Wine, and Spirits shop, complete with a 550-square-foot humidor, four aisles of wine, hundreds of beers, and virtually every premium spirit on the market.

The regulars knew two things: they could always find what they wanted, and the staff would remember every detail, down to their comments on the last cigar they smoked there. Still, the experience wasn’t up to Patel’s standards.

So in the adjacent space, hammers started swinging again—and about $1 million later, the coolest lounge in Phoenix was created. Walk through the nondescript door to the left of the shop’s entrance and you will step into the Magnum’s lounge—or out of reality and into something much, much cooler.

A bar-to-ceiling wall of fine liquor lights most of the room, which is filled with about four high-tops, two poker tables, a couple of leather sofas, and a 10-seat, granite-topped bar. Three flat screens play live concerts (think Clapton, B.B. King), unless it’s game time. Surround sound speakers make it feel more like your own living room. Hell, you can even smoke cigarettes.

“If 51 percent of a business’s sales come from tobacco, smoking is legal on the premises,” says Patel with a wink.

One thing Patel doesn’t wink about: his air filtration system. If it’s possible to walk out of a cigar lounge without smelling like smoke, it’s possible at Magnum’s.

The drink menu is so long it takes up two leather-bound volumes. Name a bottle—it’s on the list. Although members have access to a private room with an Xbox and larger television, there’s a waiting list about two dozen people deep at the time of this writing.

But if anyone—member or non-member—gets hungry in between Gurkhas and Macallans, just phone in an order for sushi or pizza or subs, and Magnum’s will plate it up.

When you stop in, have a smoke with Patel and get the rest of the story. He’ll likely be wearing a traditional Cuban guayabera shirt and a Panama hat.

And if you ask him what makes Magnum’s so special, his answer will be: “the whole lifestyle experience.” That—and the customer service.