Chaloner’s Cigar House Represents the Past, Present, and Future of the Downtown Adrian. One look at Chaloner’s Cigar House and one would know that this wasn’t a typical downtown renovation project. A lot of thought went into this project in terms of vision, planning and follow through, which is why you can see a part of Downtown Adrian’s Past, Present and even a glimpse into its future.
When thinking of historical landmarks, especially in a small town setting like Adrian, people tend to envision a destination point due to its charm, interesting setting or value it provided to the community. For a local, it might bring back nostalgic childhood memories. For visitors, it might be iconic, like something you would see on an old postcard, Michigan destination website or on a friends social media post.
Restoration projects can only go one of two ways. They involve collaboration between investors, contractors, community support and even governing bodies at the local and state levels. A lot of this may be based on whether the project has private or public money involved, but to some degree all parties involved have a level of input on how it is accepted and how difficult the process may be. This is especially true if the benefits of restoring a historical landmark extend past the landmark itself to create opportunities in the community. Those opportunities are typically driven by creating financial stability or partnerships within the community to help it grow financially and/or improve its image.
In the case of Chaloner’s Cigar Shop the idea of restoring and making it a destination point came during a casual discussion at a baseball game. Dave Pilmore, the president of Adrian Steel and Adrian College trustee, said his vision of turning the old business into a destination point started with a conversation at a ball game with Dr. (Jeffrey) Docking and (college vice president of enrollment) Frank Hribar.
Pilmore shared, “We were talking about downtown development and bringing local businesses together, and through that, with (Adrian College professor and area investor) Scott Westfall being the historian he was, asked me, ‘Dave, what do you know about Chaloner’s?” Pilmore said that at the time he knew it was for sale. And from there, the vision grew into action.
“With Scott’s love of history and my love of cigars, it just felt right,” Pilmore noted of acquiring the building and of the vision he and Westfall shared.
You might be thinking, that sounds too easy. Well, the idea may have been, the decision to look into it may have been as well, but the items mentioned above would all have to come into play. Scott Westfall recalls holding a meeting with members of the community in June of 2017. At the meeting, Westfall asked the meeting participants to share their thoughts and memories of Chaloner’s as well as what they valued most about the place. Scott shared that all of the people held favorable, fond memories. They quickly realized that many of these memories and connections spanned back to pre-WWII; the walls were adorned with pictures from the late-1800.
Westfall explained, “With all the memories and connections shared, some specifically about the look and feel of the building, signaled to us that a contemporary look for Chaloner’s was out of the question. This place was an Adrian landmark. We listened and we based our vision off of what we felt would resonate the best with those who held it near and dear.”
They didn’t have to look far to find a construction firm to carry out this task. They chose Krieghoff of Lenawee established in 1947. Experience with a wide rage of commercial projects has allowed Kreighoff to offer a variety of services including General Contracting, Design/Build, Construction Management and Pre-construction Services. However, it is their reputation for attention to detail, having the leadership and manpower to see projects through that made them an easy choice.
“They were a first-class contracting company from start to finish,” Scott Westfall said. “Jason Hess is as professional as you can get and his team did an outstanding job of bringing our vision to life.”
Work started in 2017 with refurbishing the old Chaloner’s building from the bottom up, salvaging original materials, and using woodwork from the former Garfield and McKinley elementary buildings, as well as period wood from barns and churches in Michigan and Ohio.
“Once we came together with a vision, we communicated that to our team who helped bring what was in our heads to fruition,” Pilmore detailed. “If we could have taken what we had from our heads and put it in a picture, this would have been it.”
“It was absolutely imperative we preserved a lot of the past, as we wanted to give back to the community. We wanted it to be a place where people would walk in and instantly be transported back in time to those favorable memories. We also wanted to make sure that the first floor had the same feel as the original — building on the past to improve the future.”
The end result, a unique building with three levels that each offer something different.
1st Floor at Chaloner & Co. offers the nostalgic feel and memories that Chaloner’s has brought to the city of Adrian since 1874. With candy starting at 10 cents, popcorn made in the original machine, glass bottle sodas, apparel along with our stunning 300 square foot walk-in humidor featuring over 1,000 different cigars and cigar accessories.
2nd Floor is the entryway into Chaloner’s Cigar House. A 21 and over, upscale cigar lounge and full bar featuring hand made craft cocktails, local beers on draft, wines and an expansive scotch, whiskey and bourbon list. Guests are welcome to enjoy a cigar from our fist floor humidor or select one from our smaller humidor on the 2nd floor.
3rd Floor houses our Chaloner’s Cigar Society available to members and their guests or day passes are available for $10 per person and a portion of the proceeds goes to the Boys and Girls Club of Lenawee. The glassed in Atrium and waterfall area is also on our 3rd floor, which is open to the public and is our only non-smoking area at Chaloner’s Cigar House. Guests may enjoy a glass of wine, a snack or just a good book in a relaxing environment.
The Member Society Lockers on the third level were a great idea. To some they represent a way for people to invest in the people who went out of their way to bring a business like this to the downtown or an exclusive group that people can be a part of.
The owners see the lockers as a keystone in a cigar lounge. Pilmore said the members of the cigar society had two membership options — founding and regular membership. He disclosed that 75% of the box holders chose the founding rate and its perks, a rate that was twice the “regular” membership.
“People were saying, ‘I want to support that business because it’s good for Adrian,’” he said.
The lockers allow members to properly store their cigars at a perfect 70 degrees temperature and 70% humidity. They are also large enough to house a member’s favorite bottle of scotch or wine if they so choose. No matter how the lockers are viewed or what the intent was, they were sold out the 2nd day Chaloner’s Cigar House opened for business. There is now a waiting list where people can either fill out an application at Chaloner’s Cigar House or follow this link on our website
What makes Chaloner’s unique?
“It’s a place where people can connect with people,” Pilmore shared. “I’ve visited a lot of cigar places; it’s like a brotherhood that supports conversation and an ambience that connects people with people.”
Laura Wanke who is the General Manager, said the atmosphere at Chaloner’s is different than she has seen at other places where people gather socially.
“Here, people engage with each other and put their technology down and look each other in the eye,” Wanke said. “I don’t see that here much in other places.”
Many have asked, how is the cigar industry trending? Wanke answers, “More and more people are smoking cigars every year. By 2024, the number of cigar smokers is expected to rise 4.23%. At Chaloner’s we appreciate that 50% of our customers are women. We have created a place where anyone can feel comfortable as they would if at their own home.”
Chaloner’s Cigar House recognizes the importance of giving back to the community.
“We are strong supporters of the Boys and Girls Club of Lenawee; donating just under $4,000 between February 16th and September 16th from our popcorn sales. We also are big supporters of the arts, hosting monthly free art shows to the public, donating to the Adrian Symphony Orchestra, and hosting local musicians weekly. We also support the Kiwanis Club of Adrian.”
Chaloner’s Cigar House owners have created a blueprint for others to follow when it comes to the renovation of a historic property and how it can positively impact downtown development. They have truly merged the past, present and future of downtown Adrian by creating an establishment that represents all three.
Article Written by: Get Lenawee
Edited by: Denise M. Dusseau
Graphics by: Wingman Consulting
Photography by: Artonic
