Ali Bahmani

Ali Bahmani, whose grandfather had owned a tobacco manufacturing plant in Iran, is the owner of the Calabash Cigar Cafe in South Portland.
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But both longtime patrons like Snell and owner Ali Bahmani said they were initially worried the new law would spell the end of smoke shops.

"Absolutely, we would have had to shut down," said Bahmani.

For Bahmani, it would have been an unfortunate end to a story that began in 1978, when he was 18 and boarded one of the last planes to leave Iran in the wake of the revolution.He studied business at Husson College in Bangor and began work at the Tinderbox at the Bangor Mall, a smoke shop.It was "fate or destiny," said Bahmani, as his grandfather had owned a tobacco manufacturing plant in Iran.

He took a job at Perkins Tobacco at the Maine Mall until it closed in 1990, when he opened a tobacco kiosk in the mall.He outgrew the space in 1992 and moved to a small shop space nearby, at the retail strip where Staples and the Burlington Coat Factory are located.In 1994, he opened a second store, which today is on Exchange Street in the Old Port.

In 1995, said Bahmani, he expanded his business in South Portland to include food and drink.It provides a place for his patrons to try the cigars they buy with added comfort, he said.For example, said Bahmani, if a customer is going to buy a box of $12 cigars, he or she will want to sit and try one, first.

"You can't go buy a Hummer and not go for a test drive," he said.

The shop has a comfortable, friendly atmosphere.A $5,000 ventilation system Bahmani installed keeps the Calabash from becoming too smoky.At the far end, soft leather couches face a big-screen TV; patrons can enjoy the latest Cigar Aficionado magazine or several coffee-table books, such as "The Art of the Cigar Label."

There's a walk-in humidor at the front of the shop, holding cigars that can run up to $23 apiece, but average $7 per.Glass and wood shelves line the back of the shop, displaying smaller humidors, cigar cutters, shaving implements, pipes - all in all, about $40,000 in inventory, said Bahmani.According to Bahmani, more than 70 percent of his sales come from tobacco products.

He said he's trying to preserve the feel of a cigar shop, the likes of which have been around since the 1740s, "since the first English guy decided to smoke a cigar, not a pipe."

There's a certain cut-above feel to the shop, and Bahmani points to small cues that support this.The most popular channels on the TV include the History Channel, the Learning Channel, the Discovery Channel and news stations, he said.Folks coming in to smoke have something to talk about - what sort of cigars they enjoy."It's a bonding ritual for men," said Bahmani.
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Bahmani said he's never had a problem with employees complaining about smoking in his shops.A sign on the door says "smoking please," another hangs over the bar, proclaiming the business a cigar cafe and there's a 160-square-foot humidor right at the entrance.Anyone applying for a job there knows what the business is, said Bahmani.

"You cannot bypass that," said Bahmani.

Employee Kandise Fish said she knew the place was a smoke shop when she applied for a job a year ago.

"If smoking bothered me, I wouldn't have applied here," she said.

Additionally, said Bahmani, there are now hundreds of other food-service places in Portland alone to work if you don't like smoking.

Bahmani said he thought the whole ban happened quickly, and there wasn't enough opportunity for input from the public.Coming from the Middle East, where "everything is dictated," gave him a unique perspective.

"You come to the land of opportunity, (but you're) slowly losing all the voices, the opinions that could have been voiced - that sometimes boggles my mind," he said.

But both longtime patrons like Snell and owner Ali Bahmani said they were initially worried the new law would spell the end of smoke shops.

"Absolutely, we would have had to shut down," said Bahmani.

For Bahmani, it would have been an unfortunate end to a story that began in 1978, when he was 18 and boarded one of the last planes to leave Iran in the wake of the revolution.He studied business at Husson College in Bangor and began work at the Tinderbox at the Bangor Mall, a smoke shop.It was "fate or destiny," said Bahmani, as his grandfather had owned a tobacco manufacturing plant in Iran.

He took a job at Perkins Tobacco at the Maine Mall until it closed in 1990, when he opened a tobacco kiosk in the mall.He outgrew the space in 1992 and moved to a small shop space nearby, at the retail strip where Staples and the Burlington Coat Factory are located.In 1994, he opened a second store, which today is on Exchange Street in the Old Port.

In 1995, said Bahmani, he expanded his business in South Portland to include food and drink.It provides a place for his patrons to try the cigars they buy with added comfort, he said.For example, said Bahmani, if a customer is going to buy a box of $12 cigars, he or she will want to sit and try one, first.

"You can't go buy a Hummer and not go for a test drive," he said.

The shop has a comfortable, friendly atmosphere.A $5,000 ventilation system Bahmani installed keeps the Calabash from becoming too smoky.At the far end, soft leather couches face a big- screen TV; patrons can enjoy the latest Cigar Aficionado magazine or several coffee-table books, such as "The Art of the Cigar Label."

There's a walk-in humidor at the front of the shop, holding cigars that can run up to $23 apiece, but average $7 per.Glass and wood shelves line the back of the shop, displaying smaller humidors, cigar cutters, shaving implements, pipes - all in all, about $40,000 in inventory, said Bahmani.According to Bahmani, more than 70 percent of his sales come from tobacco products.

He said he's trying to preserve the feel of a cigar shop, the likes of which have been around since the 1740s, "since the first English guy decided to smoke a cigar, not a pipe."

There's a certain cut-above feel to the shop, and Bahmani points to small cues that support this.The most popular channels on the TV include the History Channel, the Learning Channel, the Discovery Channel and news stations, he said.Folks coming in to smoke have something to talk about - what sort of cigars they enjoy."It's a bonding ritual for men," said Bahmani.
...
Bahmani said he's never had a problem with employees complaining about smoking in his shops.A sign on the door says "smoking please," another hangs over the bar, proclaiming the business a cigar cafe and there's a 160- square-foot humidor right at the entrance.Anyone applying for a job there knows what the business is, said Bahmani.

"You cannot bypass that," said Bahmani.

Employee Kandise Fish said she knew the place was a smoke shop when she applied for a job a year ago.

"If smoking bothered me, I wouldn't have applied here," she said.

Additionally, said Bahmani, there are now hundreds of other food- service places in Portland alone to work if you don't like smoking.

Bahmani said he thought the whole ban happened quickly, and there wasn't enough opportunity for input from the public.Coming from the Middle East, where "everything is dictated," gave him a unique perspective.

"You come to the land of opportunity, (but you're) slowly losing all the voices, the opinions that could have been voiced - that sometimes boggles my mind," he said.