An old-fashioned meeting place, but Jeff Tharp, co-owner of California Cigar Co. & Smoking Lounge, jokingly refers to his business as an adult day care center.

“We’re like Spanky and his gang. Just a little older,” smiled Tharp, explaining that many of his regulars (mostly men), from mortgage bankers and real estate agents to retirees, really enjoy spending some leisure time, almost daily, at the smoking lounge.

They bring their snacks or lunches. They sit back on comfy 1962 winged-back Ethan Allen chairs to read the newspaper or take a short snooze. They play poker, chess, cribbage or backgammon at one of the game tables. They listen to music, watch fishing movies or turn on the TV for sporting events. They hop onto the computer to check their e-mail or do a search on the Internet. They conduct business, sometimes closing $1 million deals.

And, during the summer months, they gather in the back of the shop to smoke or barbecue the fish they caught that day during one of the expeditions Tharp arranged.

Of course, they also buy and smoke fine cigars and laugh and joke with each other, all under the watchful eye of the California Cigar Co.’s official mascot, Miss Betsy, a 4-year old basset hound. Yes, indeed, this is a leisure lounge, one filled with family portraits, dozens of pictures from fishing trips, assorted banners, as well as a huge selection of cigars in every price range. You’ll also see every related tobacco item, including humidors, lighters, cutters and pipes, to name a few. “We do everything we can to match people’s needs,” said Tharp. And, that means he always strives to offer what the customers want in the way of merchandise, as well as what they want in the way of fun for their leisure time.