Michelle Lerario has enjoyed smoking cigars for 30 years and particularly enjoyed going to Fedora’s Cigar & Wine Bar in Punta Gorda. 

“I was a customer here,” she said, speaking from the cigar lounge she now owns. 

About 10 months ago Lerario started a Facebook group called Punta Gorda Cigar Aficionados that has 70 members. Back then she never dreamed she would soon own Fedora’s. When the previous owners told her they wanted to sell their business and retire, she immediately offered to buy the establishment located behind Pioneer’s Pizza in Punta Gorda. 

The old owners were out by March 1, and that was the day Lerario took over and hosted a Great Gatsby-themed party to celebrate. 

She had to do very little to the cigar lounge. “It was in turnkey condition,” she said. But Lerario did add some touches of her own.

Large, comfortable chairs and a loveseat create an ambience at Fedora’s that resembles an upscale private club. Behind a glass-fronted room off the bar area is a treasure trove of cigars for sale. There’s also a hat stand containing fedora hats, a case containing a variety of lighters and accessories for the cigar aficionado, and other decor frame the walls. 

Toward the back of Fedora’s are framed photos of celebrities smoking cigars, surrounding a photo in the middle that is of Lerario’s late father who also was a cigar smoker. 

“Dad and I smoked together,” she reminisced while sharing memories of the times they had together. 

On Aug. 16, several men and women sat at the bar enjoying wine and beer and smoking cigars prior to a ribbon-cutting ceremony by the Charlotte County Chamber of Commerce later that day. 

Because of its location along Tamiami Trail across from the Publix-anchored Punta Gorda Crossing mall, Fedora’s constantly has new customers drop in. 

They can bring their own cigars—there is a cutting fee—or buy them in the lounge. 

Lerario runs Fedora’s with Holly Primc, a cigar expert who sells her own brand called Crown Majesty. Primc has created five blends that are rolled in an Apopka factory. 

Today, most cigars are made in Nicaragua, but the Dominican Republic and Honduras also are cigar manufacturers, she said. Currently, the Perdomo and Padrón brands are among the most popular. 

Lerario said the number of cigar aficionados continues to grow. Some customers visit Fedora’s just to enjoy a glass of wine, and for the nonsmoker, there is no smoke in the room. An industrial air filtration system sucks out the smoke and what remains is a pleasant light fragrance. 

Her road to owning Fedora’s and Primc’s joining her in running the cigar lounge was serendipitous. 

“Seven years ago, I moved here to take care of my dad,” said Lerario, a hospitality manager of hotels. 

Primc moved to Punta Gorda from Orlando when her husband’s job transferred him to Charlotte County. 

Primc, a cigar expert, found Fedora’s and soon she was hired. 

Lerario’s vision for Fedora’s beyond offering cigar-lovers a place to smoke indoors is to open it to private and public events and parties. 

She plans to host a cigar event once a month in addition to a monthly party 

A cut-and-light event will highlight Primc’s Crown Majesty cigars Sept. 7, a music bingo event is slated for 7 to 9 p.m. Sept. 14, an Octoberfest party is planned for Oct. 5, a Halloween costume party with prizes will take place at the end of October  and every Friday night from 6 to 9 p.m. Fedora’s has a free Texas Hold ’em poker event. 

A women’s book club and wine and chocolate events are being planned. 

Part of Lerario’s philosophy is to give back and help others. 

On one wall a large Cigars for Warriors sign is displayed. The nonprofit sends cigars to service men and women overseas. Over Memorial Day weekend, Fedora’s sent 150 cigars and $145 to Cigars for Warriors. 

Lerario said helping local charities is important to her, and since she moved to the area she has been a member of the Charlotte Harbor Parrot Head Club, a nonprofit social club supporting Valerie’s House and whose members volunteer in the community. Fedora’s also supports the Boys & Girls Club of Charlotte County. 

Fedora’s Cigar & Wine Bar, 2117 Tamiami Trail, is open noon to 8 p.m. Sunday, Tuesday and Wednesday and noon to 10 p.m. Thursday through Saturday.