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Board approves signage variance for Sir Winston’s lounge after debate over window graphics
Summary
The ZBA approved a variance allowing additional exterior/window signage for Sir Winston’s cigar lounge (application ZB2025-064), after the applicant said the business will relocate its main entrance and use tasteful window graphics plus an awning.
The Laconia Zoning Board of Adjustment approved a signage variance June 16 for an application filed by Poggus Properties to support Sir Winston’s, a private cigar lounge, allowing additional window and exterior signage beyond the three signs normally allowed at the site.
Mike Locken of Poggus Properties described the plan: the front door will be replaced with a window, the entrance will move to the side beneath an awning, and the front windows will carry tinted graphics so patrons can see out but passersby will not see inside. "It's kind of a speakeasy type of thing," Locken said, describing the intended aesthetic.
Board members discussed how the ordinance treats individual window graphics as signs; staff noted window signage that meets size rules is treated differently from other sign types. The planner said the window graphics proposed meet the size regulations and that the property’s total signable area (as measured for the property) is 216 square feet. The applicant had requested five or six individual signs where three are typically allowed; the board approved the additional signs with the condition that overall sizing rules be observed.
The applicant also described parking plans, including on-street spaces, availability at the nearby opera house on non-event nights and a small off-street lot one block away. Board members praised the design and treatment of the storefront and voted to approve the variance (ZB2025-064). No public opposition was recorded at the hearing.
