28 / 65
R
We look for
established
retailers who
offer a great
experience.
These may be
retailers who
are looking to
expand their
existing foot
print with new
stores or look-
ing to remodel
their store to
an upgrade.
PHOTO COURTESY OF CREATIVAS GROUP
[ 28 ]
TOBACCO BUSINESS
[
MARCH
/
APRIL
|
17 ]
Retail is inherently risky, so why is a successful cigar
brand looking to do a whole lot more of it? “Ultimate-
ly, we want to be able to service more and more adult
cigar smokers across the U.S.,” says Rob Maneson,
general manager of Casa de Montecristo, who says the
company’s retail shops have been remodeled with larger
lounges to meet increasing consumer demand. “There
are fewer and fewer places that adult consumers can
smoke, relax and enjoy their cigars with friends and ac-
quaintances. We believe our store model meets consum-
er needs and we want to expand it further to a broader
base of adult consumers.”
TB
talked with Maneson shortly after the company an-
nounced plans to open three new locations by July of 2017
in the cities of Tampa, Florida; Nashville, Tennessee; and
Austin, Texas. The stores are a mix of company-owned
stores and licensed-based partnerships with some of the top
established premium cigar retailers in the country.
For example, the new Casa de Montecristo by Tam-
pa Humidor represents a partnership with Mike Howe,
one of the area’s top cigar retailers. Located on the pop-
ular South Howard Street in South Tampa, the store
will feature a full liquor bar, lounge space and a well-
stocked premium cigar humidor.
The other two new stores are pure-play company
ventures. Nashville’s new Casa de Montecristo will be
a 3,200-square-foot store featuring a walk-in humi-
dor, private patio space for 20 people and a full-liquor
bar. Scheduled to open in April 2017, the store will be
located in the Gulch area of Nashville—a fast growing
neighborhood on the southwest fringe of downtown,
featuring lively restaurants, bars, boutique stores, hotels
and condominiums.
May of 2017 will see a Casa de Montecristo open-
ing in the Davenport Village section of Austin, Texas,
a city known as both a cultural mecca and an emerging
business hub. The 3,800-square-foot store will feature a
large walk-in humidor, bar and an outdoor patio space
for cigar smokers living in a community that prides it-
self on “Keeping Austin Weird.” It will be the brand’s
second location in Texas, where Dallas is home to a
4,300-square-foot location with an 800-square-foot
walk-in humidor.
What these disparate locations have in common are
growing populations and regulations that allow outdoor
smoking patios, notes Maneson, who says the company
is continuing to scout new locations but declined to offer
specifics. Excerpts of his interview with
TB
follow:
The walk-in humidor at Casa de Montecristo
by Prime Cigar &Whiskey Bar in Miami, Florida
opened in June 2016.