The Vault brings premium cigar lounge to McMinnville, Tennessee

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The Vault brings premium cigar lounge to McMinnville

By Samuel P Demonbreun Southern Standard Reporter - Jan 23, 2026

Signage outside The Vault - Samuel P Demonbreun photo

The outside of The Vault located at 805 N Chancery St.- Samuel P Demonbreun photo

Warren County now has what cigar enthusiasts have been missing for years; a quality cigar lounge that doesn’t require an hour-long drive.

The Vault officially opened its doors this week at 805 N Chancery Street, offering Warren County’s first upscale cigar lounge in a renovated 1950s house.

Owners Tim Tointon, Don Stiebohr and Shane Brock spent the past three months transforming the former law office into a welcoming space for cigar smokers and anyone looking for a place to relax and socialize.

“McMinnville has a great demographic of cigar smokers,” Tointon said. “All three of us have been around cigar lounges our whole lives. We all had the same vision.”

That vision became reality quickly. The three partners found the Chancery Street location in early October and immediately saw its potential.

“When we found this house, we’re said this house isn’t gonna come around very often,” Tointon said. “In a great area and we jumped on it, got it for a great deal and we just started constructing.”

The renovation revealed unexpected treasures. Underneath layers of carpet and engineered hardwood, the team discovered original hardwood flooring throughout most of the house.

“When we started tearing it out, I’m like, holy crap, there’s good flooring,” Tointon said. “The only thing we couldn’t do was the kitchen because there were so many layers, so we didn’t want to take a chance.”

The team installed luxury vinyl tile in the kitchen area and preserved the hardwood throughout the rest of the space. They knocked down walls to create an open floor plan, converting what was once a bedroom into the front counter area.

Before The Vault opened, the closest cigar lounges were in Cookeville, Tullahoma or Lebanon, all about an hour away. That distance meant cigar enthusiasts either drove or went without.

Tointon met partner Shane Brock in a Smithville cigar lounge and the two hit it off over their shared passion for cigars. Tointon and Stiebohr had discussed opening a lounge years earlier but the timing never worked out.

When all three partners aligned on the vision for The Vault, they moved quickly.

“We wanted a higher-end cigar lounge,” Tointon said. “A nice relaxing place and a place for people to come socialize.”

All three owners have visited cigar lounges across the country. Tointon works in sales and travels frequently, making it a point to check out local lounges wherever he goes.

“Everywhere I go, I try to find a cigar lounge,” Tointon said. “Just kind of take pieces. What do I like from this? What do I like from that?”

The number one priority that emerged from those visits was ventilation. Converting a 1950s house with low ceilings into a cigar lounge required solving the smoke problem.

“That’s key, especially with lower ceilings in a house,” Tointon said. “So we have a phenomenal ventilation system in here.”

The Vault installed two large commercial units in the attic along with a push-pull system. Vents in the ceiling pull smoke out of the house while smaller vents push fresh air in.

The system impressed both the owners and smokers during opening weekend when over 50 people attended and 24 were smoking simultaneously.

“There wasn’t even a haze,” Tointon said. “It exceeded our expectations.”

The space features comfortable seating options the partners selected individually, with each choosing a set of four chairs they liked. Tables include built-in charging ports, a necessity in a house with limited electrical outlets.

“It’s a 50s house, there’s no outlets in this house,” Tointon said. “So we discovered these tables that had outlets in them so people could charge their phones.”

The Vault offers 32 membership lockers, an unusually high number for a cigar lounge. The timing worked perfectly when the owner of the Smithville cigar lounge decided to retire just as The Vault was getting started.

“He was like, hey, this is perfect timing. How about you buy all my inventory, buy my cabinets, buy my humidors, buy my lockers,” Tointon said. “I had just bought those other lockers and I’m like, well, shoot, you can’t have enough membership.”

All lockers are humidified so members can store cigars, pipes and pipe tobacco. Members can also bring bourbon bottles to share, though The Vault doesn’t have a liquor license.

The lounge does have a beer license for non-members.

“There was so much interest in McMinnville,” Tointon said. “32 lockers are going to sell quickly.”

The partners want to dispel the image of cigar lounges as smoky rooms filled with old men. They’re building a culture focused on camaraderie and community.

“Cigars are a culture thing and I think that it’s very classy.” Stiebohr said.

The Warren County Young Professionals Club held a meeting at The Vault, showing the lounge’s appeal across age groups.

“There’s a lot more younger people that are getting involved,” Tointon said.

The Vault is open Wednesday through Saturday from 11 a.m. to 8 p.m. and Sunday from 12 p.m. to 6 p.m.

Source: https://www.herald-citizen.com/mcminnville/the-vault-brings-premium-cigar-lounge-to-mcminnville/article_9a7d2c4c-75d0-53d4-a7e0-25ab7a49c89b.html