By JONATHAN SNYDER
A new place primarily for bourbon and cigars is scheduled to open early next year, with two Bluffton residents’ love for both a driving force.
The new bar, Bourbon MD, will be located on Market Street, with a focus on atmosphere and a wide selection of bourbons and cigars available for purchase. Owners Joey Mossburg and Nathan Dirig both currently work on power lines and want to have the opportunity to spend time closer to family.
Mossburg, a bourbon collector, and Dirig, a cigar lover, said that a combination of Bluffton’s downtown growth and a desire to connect with the community brought the business to light.
“I moved down here from Fort Wayne six years ago to get to the Norwell school district, and I just fell in love with the sense of community and the people that I met,” Mossburg said. “I’ve noticed that it’s such a cool town, because everybody loves to come together and socialize. I’m one of the types of people that thrive off being with people all the time. I don’t think you can have enough friends. And so, if you can create an environment or place where you can bring as many people as you can and have fun, why not?”
Despite Mossburg and Dirig’s self-proclaimed “outsider” status, they both said that, in their short time in the city, Bluffton has quickly embraced them. Both desire to be involved in the community and give back to a city that has meant a lot to them, discussing potential golf outings and a Rivergreenway clean-up. Bluffton has responded to Mossburg and Dirig’s plans, with people wishing them well both in person and on their Facebook page.
“It’s great to open a building and make new friends and build customer clientele,” Mossburg said. “My thought is, you can make all the money in the world, but if you’re not giving it back (to the community) to me, that gives me the gratification that is meaningful.”
“The community has just accepted us,” Dirig said. “Me being an outsider, I haven’t felt like an oddball out. It’s been fantastic.”
Mossburg and Dirig plan to create a lounge with leather couches and seating. They plan to offer allocated bourbons and cigars, which are rarer and will give Bourbon MD a broader selection than most bars. Traditional whiskies and simple cocktails will be available, along with a selection of non-alcoholic beverages with similar tastes to their alcoholic counterparts. Customers will be allowed to smoke cigars in the facility with air vents destroying approximately 85% of ambient smoke, according to Dirig.
“It’ll be more of a lounge,” Dirig said. “More of a social gathering place that people in Bluffton and the community can come to. We’ll definitely have our varieties of bourbons and our varieties of cigars, so everybody can get a little taste of everything.”
“We want everybody to feel welcome,” Mossburg said. “We’re blue collar right now, working on power lines, so we want everybody to feel welcome. But we also want them to feel like they are in an upscale environment and give them the best experience.”
jonathan@news-banner.com
