About a block from Paul Revere’s house, nestled between the famed Mike’s Pastry and an old-world Italian coffeehouse sits Stanza Dei Sigari. Roughly translated, it means ‘Room of the Cigars’ and while they have a nicely stocked humidor, the old haunt offers a full bar and hookah as well. Though it sits beneath street level, the entrance is difficult to miss. Marked by a large stogie protruding from above the door...
The building has been around for over 200 years. Nowhere else in the United States I can think of can you smoke in a building that old. The business itself will be celebrating it’s centennial in two years. That’s right, Federal Cigar was started in 1921 and has been in business ever since. Before that, a place called United Tobacco began in 1904 but was renamed Federal a year into Prohibition.
What if you are in Chicago and looking for a great place to relax with a cigar and some good company? All-in-all, Chicago has a number of fine cigar shops, and they are well distributed throughout the area. But in October of 2018, Garret and I drove to Chicago to meet with Riste Ristevski. Riste is the owner and founder of Jas Sum Kral Cigars (JSK). Since Riste lives just on the Indiana side of Chicago, we talked about meeting at a shop in Chicago. Without hesitation, the first place he suggested was Biggs Mansion.
