Let’s start with the good news since so many online d-bags seem sensitive to reality nowadays.
On the bright side, The Cigar Box in Downtown Kansas City proper is thriving and scores of younger people continue to enjoy classic crooner tunes from the Golden Age of The Rat Pack. Al Latta still works the room with a masterful skill that keeps people coming back every weekend en masse.
Now here’s the downside: Denizens of the popular downtown hangout might not realize that the odds of their untimely demise increases dramatically because the place reportedly gets crowded beyond capacity at peak party times.
Let’s explore the details together, shall we?
Over the weekend, my sources tell me that the Cigar Box crowd was exceptionally lively and a good time was had by all. What the revelers didn’t notice was that the occupancy in the room reads 80 MAXIMUM.
One Cigar Box regular told me, “There were 200 hundred people in there easily.” He continued, “I didn’t feel any danger for my safety until you mentioned the occupancy number just now. No, they seem in control and I know for a fact the security in the place is top notch. They seem to have a strategic plan for dealing with trouble.”
Another Cigar Box customer counted 150 and 175 people in the bar around midnight Friday. That’s double the room’s posted capacity.
So, obviously The Cigar Box is keeping their clientele happy if bending city codes to the breaking point doesn’t bother customers. If only I could keep a woman that happy, the many single moms that I score with would come back for more as well. Sadly, that almost never happens.
Additionally, to be fair, an off-duty, uniformed member of the KCPD is almost always on site on weekends which does a lot to improve crowd control should the place get too out of hand. Why the officer doesn’t bother to keep count of the obvious overcrowding situation is another matter.
But despite the fact that I blog from a basement, I don’t like enclosed areas. Especially when they are overcrowded. I can type from this dank enclosure all day, but I don’t want any company and the massive gathering of folks both young and old is a bit too much for me to endure just to listen to this town’s favorite lounge lizard. So, for Kansas City partygoers anxious to smell the beer breath of their fellow mankind, the Cigar Box sounds like a nice night on the town. Still, I’d rather they stick to the (probably out of date) sign in their establishment which promises a small crowd and a bit more room to breathe.
Tony Botello
Gavin
Oh.
Jayhawk Tony
“Peek” party times, TonyB? Dumbass.
smartman
Hey BO-TAY-OH, when you gonna correct people about the REAL pronunciation of your name?
Tortilla is Tor-tee-yah. Padilla is Pah -dee-yah and you’re BO-TAY-OH. C’mon amigo, embrace your ethnicity.
Brraaapp
Tony it sounds like your unnamed sources are the same people who were guessing how many people show up to the Plaza Lighting Ceremony (1,000,000+ right?).
I’ve been to the Cigar Box plenty of times and the idea of 175 people squeezing in there is hilarious. Sure it gets packed and pretty uncomfortable but that number is bullshit.
Great job as usual!
hearne
Nice try Brraapp but I was down there with Dave Stephens and counted the crowd. Didn’t take long either; It was between 160 and 175 people, plus wait staff. Laugh that one off.
Spare Us
Hearne, you must get worn out covering for this guy. Maybe there were 160-175 people there, but the author of the post has idea. As with the rest of his writing: 1) Call the readers d-bags; 2) Make claims based on something someone said to him and act like a hard-nosed reporter; and finally 3) Shower us with meaningless personal observations.
Nothing but the best from Tony.
hearne
All I can tell you is he got this one right, Spare Us. I know who Tony’s source is too and he is beyond credible. More to the point, can you imagine what might happen in that place with more than double the legal capacity of people in there if everybody decided to get out quick?
JayhawkTony
“All I can tell you is he got this one right, Spare Us. I know who Tony
Brraaapp
Well Hearne if know for sure there were 160+ in the Cigar Box that is pretty scary. Even when there is 80 or so its super claustrophobic, so 160+ is just scary.
JJ
It was pretty freaking crowded last Saturday night.
It was my first night there since they actually started enforcing the non-smoking rule, which gave you a little more room to breath.
Rainbow Man
No Thanks. I do not need to feel important by hanging around with a bunch of Tony Soprano wannabes. They probably pay Latta 12 bucks an hour and blame him if they have an off night. Sorry, not a big fan of the KC Mafia, which is very real and has destroyed real lives.
craig glazer
So you don’t go to the cigarbox cause THE MOB OWNS IT, really…just for your information, the MOB pretty much was ended in this and most cities by the FBI long ago, rent Casino…with the teamsters out of the way and Vegas owned by corps. and the government, the Mob has really no way to make big bucks so it has folded..back in 84/85…that includes KC, they even disbanded the FBI Organized Cime Task Force a few years back to put them on White collar crime and middle east affairs….Who do you think is in the Mob here?
Drug traffic is mostly independant or gang related at best…and hookers, well they are pretty much on their own, or you can rent one outta the Pitch….so other then stolen goods,not much around for the Mob to do these days, oh yeah, gambling is now legal at casinos in most states or online….so no the Mob does not own Cigar Box. P.S. our town was safer and much more fun when the Mob did run downtown, much safer….those were the good ole days?