Tobacco Business

There’s a verse in the Bible’s Ecclesiastes 4:9 that reads, “Two are better than one because they have a good reward for their labor.” That verse speaks volumes to Amendola Family Cigar Company, a brand that has experienced tremendous growth with two dynamic entrepreneurs at its helm. Jeffrey Amendola was a police officer in Durham, North Carolina, before he was a cigar brand owner. Amendola resigned as a special victim’s unit (SVU) detective and opened his own retail store, lounge and factory in Durham called Bull City Cigar Co. “I was basically a full-time cop and a full-time entrepreneur trying to build a name for myself in the cigar community,” he explains. “My earliest experience with cigars was when I discovered a cigar factory in the Bronx, New York, as a late teen. I used to love watching them make cigars, and it piqued my interest about what the cigar culture was like. I didn’t become a full-on cigar smoker until I was about 24 years old, 15 years ago.” In 2011, Amendola’s cigar business was more experiential than it was about a specific brand. He learned how to handroll cigars so that he could make his own cigars and build an event around it. It didn’t take long for Amendola to realize that he needed to take his business to the next level and create his own brand, something he could put his name on and that he felt passionate about. That’s where his business partner, Chris Monaco, came in. Monaco was living in New York City and working as a blue-collar elevator and escalator mechanic within the city’s five different boroughs. He was a drummer in a metal band, and, in his words, was “living the dream.” Life, however, started to change and slow down a bit once he started a family and his daughter was born. At that point, Monaco began to spend time in a local cigar lounge where he indulged in his curiosity about tobacco. It took about two years of learning and time spent in the lounge for him to realize that he wanted to get into the cigar business himself. How exactly he’d do that, however, wasn’t clear to him at the time. “I found myself constantly researching manufacturers: how they grew tobacco, how they sourced tobacco, the fermentation process and all the stories behind each cigar,” he says. “I was getting fully engulfed in it and developing a passion for it. I always knew that I would eventually get involved [in it] someday; I just didn’t know when and how. I also knew that it had to be at the right time and with the right person. I didn’t want to do it alone. The cigar community is just that: a community and a culture. I wanted to take my journey into the business with the right person.” As fate would have it, Amendola was looking for someone that could help him take his brand to the next level, and after the two aspiring entrepreneurs met in 2019, they found that they clicked on many levels. Monaco was sure that he could bring some value to the brand Amendola was setting out to create. He’d take on some of the marketing and design aspects of what would come to be known as Amendola Family Cigar Company. He’d also leverage the relationships he’d developed with retailers over the years to give the brand and its product lines some shelf space. “The ultimate goal for me at the time was to help get exposure and grow the business so we could take it to the next level,” Monaco explains. “Jeff had a solid local presence but was looking to break out. This is where I came in and felt I could help the most. I knew between my skill set and his that success would be inevitable. There was no plan B.” Amendola adds, “The expectations were always to make a great premium cigar and get them into as many consumer hands as possible. We wanted to be a staple brand in every cigar store and lounge across the U.S. and world market.” When Amendola and Monaco began to work together, it didn’t take long for them to begin to see results. Their story shows others that although a company may be small in terms of the number of employees, big things can happen by partnering with the right professionals and businesses to build a brand. A Little Rispetto Amendola and Monaco set out to create a brand that was true to them and also one that was built using their skills and knowledge. To do this, they worked in their heritage to the brand. Amendola Family Cigar Company, while based on cigars, is a celebration of Italian culture. The Italian influence can easily be seen in the brand’s design, marketing and even the cigar names. Even the Jeffrey Amendola (left) and Chris Monaco (right), co-owners of Amendola Family Cigar Company, at a rolling event. [ 50 ] TOBACCO BUSINESS [ NOVEMBER / DECEMBER | 21 ]