Robert Praetzel ’15

Rob Praetzel ’15 puts his business degree from Franciscan University to work on the job every day, but he also is employing it to foster the revitalization of downtown Steubenville.

In 2022, Rob, a software engineer by profession, joined with two other entrepreneurs to start Chesterton & Co. Cigars, which he describes as “a space for camaraderie and virtue-based fellowship with other Catholics.”

The idea for the shop was forged in his garage, where he and friends had been getting together on Monday nights to have a cigar and work on projects in his wood shop. However, after Rob’s wife, Kate (Blythe ’16), gave birth to the third of their four children, the garage gatherings became harder to facilitate. It was then that Rob and two partners opened a shop bearing the name of Catholic author and apologist G.K. Chesterton.

“Our mission and vision were to be a place where Chesterton, J.R.R. Tolkien, and C.S. Lewis would hang out,” Rob says. “A lot of people have come in and engaged in our space and brought to light that hope.”

Initially, he says, they expected University students and professors to form a significant part of the shop’s business, but local residents have patronized it as well. The shop, which has a large floor-to-ceiling humidor built out of glass walls from a former Steubenville dance studio, offers cigars for sale and makes its lounge available as an engagement space for date nights, comedy and music shows, literary readings, poker, chess, and work and private events.

Rob’s heart for revitalizing Steubenville also has led him to get involved in the Steubenville Revitalization Group and to start Numa Spaces, a Catholic co-working collaborative for entrepreneurs. He and another partner bought a building in downtown Steubenville where they offer entrepreneurs access to high-speed Wi-Fi and other utilities, office or desk space, conference room use, coffee, and opportunities for regular Mass and confession, all while working in a setting with like-minded people.

“We saw these buildings that were empty, falling in on themselves, and dilapidated, not as they were but as they could be. The University provided myself and my friends and family the opportunity to see things and how they could fulfill their purpose better, and then we’ve been gifted with the tools of education to know how to implement those changes.”

Robert Praetzel received the 2025 Outstanding Young Alumni Award for distinguished service to his community.