Leader of the Lost Boys

Mike Rypka loves smoking cigars with his friends so much, he bought his neighbor's house and transformed it into a smoking lounge

- By David Clough

Mike Rypka loves to throw parties. The big kind, sometimes with hundreds of people. Many of his friends and guests are also cigar smokers. So when he purchased a home in 2017 and began renovations to create a space for extravagant get-togethers, he outfitted the Austin, Texas, property with a walk-in humidor and a cigar patio by the pool. It was superb, but he felt it just wasn’t enough. Three years later, he added another surprise for his party-goers: he bought the house next door and transformed it into a smoking lounge.

“I want people to have a good time when they’re over my place,” says the 48-year-old Rypka. “I love entertaining. It’s all about great food, music, hanging out with people. Cigars are a part of that, too.”

Rypka is the founder of Torchy’s Tacos, a restaurant chain with 125 locations across 14 states. He’s wearing a white polo, blue shorts and Off-White sneakers as he leads a visitor through the palatial home where he lives with his wife and son. The approximately 10,500-square-foot mansion is surrounded by oak trees and sits on a slope above the tranquil waters of Lake Austin. Modern artwork and sculptures adorn the walls. The ceilings are more than 20-feet high. Looking out the window, you see the pool below, the volleyball court and the smoking patio.

Rypka´s “Chill Room”, completed with a walk-in humidor.

“The cigar porch was something I added to the house,” Rypka says. “It’s a shaded structure with TVs and lots of seating, all screened in. There are heaters and fans and misters you can run depending on the weather. In the winter, you can put up plexiglass siding to keep the heat in.”