Appleton Souvenir & Cigar Co. - Downtown Appleton, WI

Born of humble beginnings on April 1st 1997, Appleton Souvenir & Cigar Co (ASCC) opened its doors under the ownership of Mary Weidert as a souvenir and apparel store with a small selection of premium cigars.

Seeing that the rapidly growing cigar business needs more attention, Club Habana cigar lounge is added to the former storage area behind the showroom. Club Habana, completed in November of 1998 provides the Fox Valley with its first true cigar lounge since the 1930's. The private membership club with annual dues of $200 grows to 67 members by the spring of 1999.

January of 2002 the store comes under new ownership. Nick Herrmann of Madison, WI purchased the store from Mary Weidert as College Avenue in Appleton was being staged for reconstruction. At this time Klint Ballard, the sole remaining member of the original crew, is promoted to Manager/Cigar Buyer. Upon arrival, Nick discontinues all souvenir sales and direct focus on cigars and Club Habana.

February 2002 College Avenue officially closes for reconstruction. The store buckles down and conducts business through a rear alley entrance for the entire summer...and survives!

August 2002 College Avenue reopens and Downtown Appleton begins to shine. Construction of the new Performing Arts Center located directly across from Appleton Souvenir & Cigar Co. nears completion.

January of 2003 sees the biggest change to date for the store. Ownership changes to Bob Zima of Green Bay, WI. Klint remains as Manager/Cigar Buyer as well as a fresh, well-trained part-time crew of Brandon Landro and Paul Zenker. Plans for a HUGE walk-in humidor are drawn up and immediately begin to take shape.

November 2003 brings the completion of the beautiful new 28’ walk-in humidor and a drastically expanded cigar selection. Bob gradually takes over cigar buying duties, and introduces many new brands to our ever curious customers and employees. (Our humidor is currently jam-packed with over 700 cigar facings) ASCC now has the distinction of having the largest selection of cigars north of Milwaukee.

July 2004 the membership to Club Habana is discontinued, and the lounge is now open to the public. Adrienne Palm joins our cigar smoking staff, and is a welcome addition to our all male team. The customers love her smile and enthusiasm about cigars. The departure of Klint Ballard in the months to come bring a shift in direction, and Adrienne moves into the role of full time employee, eventually becoming the Store Manager/Events Coordinator. The walk-in humidor begins to overflow with new shelves, cigars and customers. The bar business also expands to include many new select beer and liquor choices.

June 2005 the most frequently asked question quickly becomes… “How do you guys get around the smoking ban?” The voters of Appleton approve a city wide smoking ban with only one exception - retail tobacco dealers, ASCC, being the only establishment in Appleton that is smoke friendly, is great for business, however, ASCC continues to provide support to its College Ave. neighbors, fighting against the ban. Referendums have come and gone with another vote slated for April 2006.

Late in the fall of 2005, ASCC decides to expand its selection of tobacco products once more. This time Bob, much to the dismay of his seasoned Board of Directors, leaps into the rapidly growing world of Hookahs and Shisha. This ancient art of smoking sweetened, flavored tobacco through ornate water pipes is steadily growing in Appleton, as it is worldwide.

November 2005 Matthew Billingsley joins the part time staff and offers a bright new perspective on cigars and pipe tobacco.

Appleton Souvenir & Cigar Co. is still faithfully serving Appleton's tobacco needs with the best prices and unmatched service.

More changes are certain to take place in the future, and we hope you will be a part of it!
Thank you all for your patronage!