Plush bar with top-floor views of Wichita is driving membership at new club
And the award for the Best Transformation of a Storage Room goes to. . .
In September, the owners of the Ninth Floor Club on the top floor of the Ruffin Building in downtown Wichita shared plans for a new perk: a swank cigar bar and lounge where members could entertain business clients, enjoy a glass of whiskey or watch a game.
They opened Cloud 9 Cigar Bar & Lounge in January in a room that previously had been used for storage — a big waste considering the sweeping views of downtown Wichita afforded by the top-floor, east-facing windows.
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This week, the club manager offered a tour of the space along with a reminder that anyone considering joining the Ninth Floor Club, formerly known as the Petroleum Club, can sign up at no charge to be a “member for a day” and give the club’s amenities a test run.
“It gives them a chance to try it out before actually buying into the club itself,” said Chris Romero, general manager. “We have a very good success rate: Once we get people here and showcase the experience for them, they end up joining that night or shortly afterward.”
In fact, said Scott Welsh, the co-owner of the Ninth Floor Club, 80 people have signed up for Ninth Floor Club memberships since January based exclusively on their desire to have access to the cigar bar, which is outfitted in swank leather furniture and has a collection of high-end whiskey as well as its own small humidor.
Nearly two years ago, Welsh and partner Rob Patton, a Terradyne Country Club owner, took over the Petroleum Club, which at the time had been in existence for 75 years. Since 1975, the club had operated from the top floor of the big, glass-encased office building at 100 N. Broadway and had been run as a 501c6, with a board of directors making decisions.
Welsh, the general manager of Terradyne, and Patton became the first outside owners of the club and immediately began making plans to increase membership by adding perks that would appeal to modern business people. (They also changed the name to The Ninth Floor Club.)
So far, they’ve added a new dining room for members and opened Cloud 9. Welsh said that overall club membership has grown from 68 people when they took over to 304 today.
Membership at the club costs $60 a month, and members who want access to Cloud 9 pay an additional $25 a month, Welsh said. Members get other perks, like free tickets to Wind Surge and Wichita Thunder games and to Wichita Symphony Orchestra concerts. They also can access a long list of reciprocal clubs in other towns.
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Cloud 9 is accessible through its own door down the hall from the club’s longtime entrance. Members walk through one door into a tiny vestibule then enter the club through a second door. The system helps keep the cigar smoke contained to the lounge — and two top-end air purifying units the club invested in, which Welsh say cost more than anything else in the bar, keep the air inside fresh.
The cigar lounge offers a large selection of whiskeys and also serves cocktails from its full bar. Those utilizing Cloud 9 can enjoy snacks and appetizers from the Ninth Floor Club as well as an atmosphere that glows with light provided by table lamps and an illuminated back bar. The space has original wood floors, is filled with jazzy music and is decorated with photos of celebrities, from Jack Nicholson to George Burns, puffing on cigars.
Cloud 9 puts on special events, including whiskey tastings, and it offers private cigar lockers for rent. Members are allowed to bring in their own cigars or can buy them on site.
Though the private dining room and lounge are open only to members, the Ninth Floor Club still rents its main ballroom out for weddings and private meetings. The new owners have invested in upgrades in the ballroom, too, including the installation of new chandeliers and new carpet. The final phase of club renovations, slated for 2027, will include modernizing the lobby area outside the ballroom.
Welsh said that The Ninth Floor Club’s owners have been encouraged by the new cigar bar’s reception. He hopes that word continues spreading through the business community about the benefits of the club and its amenities.
“We have one goal and one motto: connection,” Welsh said. “We want the Ninth Floor to be a part of the business community ecosystem that runs through this town. We want the Ninth Floor to be the connection hub.”
This story was originally published April 24, 2026 at 1:53 PM.
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