A century-old bank vault in downtown Lorain now holds premium cigars instead of cash, and the lounge built around it just marked its first year in business. Crooked Leaf Cigar Lounge celebrated its one-year anniversary after opening Aug. 1, 2025, inside the historic former Lorain Banking Company building at the intersection of West Sixth Street and Broadway Avenue.
The business combines a premium cigar lounge with a full-service cocktail bar, a pairing that remains rare in Ohio. According to the Morning Journal, only a small number of establishments in the state have combined a premium cigar lounge with a full-service cocktail bar, per a news release from the lounge. That scarcity isn't an accident: Ohio's Smoke Free Workplace Act, passed by voters in 2006, generally bars retail tobacco stores with indoor smoking exemptions from holding liquor licenses or serving food, according to the Ohio Legislative Service Commission, which notes state lawmakers have considered bills like House Bill 530 to carve out dedicated cigar-bar exemptions.
Co-founders Dan Strohsack and Myles Bremke split the lounge's identity down the middle. Strohsack, known as the bourbon and cocktail guy, oversees day-to-day operations and developed the lounge's extensive cocktail program, while Bremke, the cigar guy, brings his passion and knowledge of premium cigars to the humidor side of the business. Per the news release, the pair poured their hearts and souls into building the business.
A Bank Vault Reborn as a Humidor
The building itself carries its own layered history. Constructed in 1901 as the Dollar Savings Bank, it became the Lorain Banking Company in 1905 under founder Richard Thew, a former Great Lakes ship captain who also led the Thew Shovel Company and gave the bank a nautical ship's wheel and lighthouse as its symbol, according to Brady's Bunch of Lorain County Nostalgia. The structure survived the deadly June 28, 1924 Lorain tornado, which tore off its decorative corner towers and top floor before it was rebuilt, according to Lorain County Memory.
Today the building is 125 years old, and its first floor houses a full cocktail bar, walk-in humidor and upscale lounge that's open to the public. That humidor sits inside the former bank's original secured vault, now housing one of the area's finest selections of premium cigars. The second floor, reserved for Cigar of the Month Club members, adds more lounges, televisions, conference space and private gathering areas.
Membership Tiers and a Wellness Floor on the Way
Crooked Leaf runs a multi-tier Cigar-a-Month Club, including a Tier Two option priced at $50 per month, or $500 annually, that grants upper-floor access and humidor lockers currently maintaining an active waiting list, according to the lounge's own membership page. A pricier $2,850 Foundation Tier has already sold out.
The lounge's third floor is dedicated to wellness and will include a 12-person wood-fired sauna, locker and shower facilities, and relaxation rooms, with plans to add a salt therapy room featuring massage chairs and red-light therapy. Strohsack said he hopes the expansion will be completed before the snow flies later this year. The lounge has also set a strict occupancy cap of 20 guests at any single time on that third floor to balance safety with an exclusive atmosphere for members.
Built Into Downtown Lorain's Social Calendar
Beyond cigars and cocktails, Crooked Leaf has become a gathering place for the community, hosting Fat Tuesday celebrations, bar crawls and Cleveland Browns tailgate parties. Its Dancing in the Streets event, featuring Krush N Boots line dancing outside the lounge, drew nearly 400 people from across the area. The lounge has also branched into themed nightlife, including a Gatsby-inspired Flappers, Fedoras & Fine Cigars evening held in November 2025, according to Eventbrite.
The lounge has woven itself into the broader downtown business scene, too. It took part in the inaugural Downtown Lorain Cocktail Week in February 2026 alongside neighboring establishments including Speak of the Devil, Lorain Brewing Company and The Anchor, according to LorainCounty.com. Late last year, the Lorain Harbor Boat Club partnered with Crooked Leaf and Bascule Brewery on joint community events aimed at supporting downtown business growth and riverfront activity, as reported by The Chronicle-Telegram.
Riding a Wave of Waterfront Investment
The lounge's growth tracks alongside major municipal investment just blocks away at Black River Landing, where the Lorain Port & Finance Authority is building a new permanent amphitheater as part of a multi-phase riverfront makeover set for a spring 2026 reveal, as Hoodline previously reported. City leaders are positioning the Black River waterfront as a regional entertainment district, and downtown business owners have leaned into cross-promotion to draw foot traffic into central Lorain.
Bremke said customer support has exceeded anything the founders could have imagined, and he thanked Crooked Leaf's customers while expressing gratitude to the city of Lorain for its continued support. He said the founders believe in downtown Lorain and plan to continue growing the business, praising the lounge's staff for creating an experience that keeps people coming back. Per the news release, the lounge created a one-of-a-kind destination in downtown Lorain, one built around exceptional cocktails, premium cigars, and staff dedicated to making every guest feel like family.
