Rumors have been swirling around downtown during the past month, and now it's official. The new tenant at the site of the former Kababs Indian Bar & Grill will be - R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Co.

The company has signed a five-year lease to open a Marshall McGearty Tobacco Lounge at 321 W. Fourth St. (at the corner of Fourth and Marshall streets)

This is the company's second tobacco lounge. The first opened in Chicago in December to much fanfare. The hip, upscale lounges are designed to promote the company's premium brand, Marshall McGearty Tobacco Artisan, a high-end blend. The prices here haven't been set yet, but in Chicago, a pack costs $9, including tax. A tobacconist will also be on site to roll custom packs of cigarettes for patrons.

The brand is named after Jerry Marshall, a senior staff blends specialist in Reynolds' research and development department, and Larry McGearty, a creative director at Quaker City Mercantile, a Philadelphia advertising agency that has handled the company's advertising.

Reynolds plans to use the Winston-Salem lounge as a prototype to test new products and concepts, and expects to further expand to hip and trendy urban locations nationwide.

The lounge will occupy the street level of the building and will feature what the company describes as a "ridiculously plush" environment with cozy chairs and sofas. There will be coffees, pastries and other baked goods for sale. Patrons will be restricted to those 21 and older. Construction will begin soon, with extensive renovations planned. The opening date is expected to be in the second quarter of 2007.