HELENA — One Helena private membership club has moved locations, and you can attend their grand opening on Saturday.
“Everybody that’s been in here. Everybody walks in, and the first thing they do [is] they just sit with their jaw in their lap looking around,” said Ken Weinheimer, the owner of Capital Club Cigar Lounge.
He opened Capital Club Cigar Lounge two years ago behind Rocky Mountain Liquor Store, also owned by Weinheimer.
The new location is next to Dotty’s Casino at 1800 Cedar Avenue in what used to be Northside Liquor and Wine. It features a central area, game room, kitchen, and conference room—all available to be rented by members.
Weinheimer said, “One of the biggest reasons we had for moving here is that we had too many members at such a small location, so it was time to just get into a bigger location.”
The club has over 50 members, and they have day passes if you want to try it out. Prices range from $40 per month to $85 per month.
“The reason people like to come to lounges like this is they get to come here and have the exclusivity and the anonymity of being in here. It’s amazing who comes in here. It’s amazing who some of the members are, and it’s a lot more popular of a thing than I think most would think,” said Weinheimer.
A public grand opening for the new location is happening this Saturday at 4 p.m. at the Rocky Mountain Liquor Store.
At 6 p.m., a members and member guests-only celebration kicks off at the new location on Cedar Ave.
Two out-of-state guests will showcase their products at Rocky Mountain Liquor Store: Justice Israel, the Pacific Northwest area manager for Whistlepig Whiskey, and Glen Case, owner of Kristoff Cigars.
Israel said, “We don’t have a cool cigar bar just because our state laws are so different; it’s something that both people in Helena and Montana, in general, can be proud of.”
“I call it the equalizer: a cigar brings everyone together. I don’t care what you do for a living [or] How much you make; a cigar truly brings people together, and it initiates friendships and conversations. There are very few cigar lounges like Ken’s in the country, and I’ve been in thousands of them, and he is right up there to the best that I’ve seen,” Case said.
The new location also has a piece of history: the back bar from the bar fight scene in the 1992 movie “A River Runs Through It.”
The back bar will be used as a display when cigar manufacturers showcase their products to club members.
For more information and if you would like to become a member, visit capitalclubmt.com.
