Tobacco Business

[ 76 ] TOBACCO BUSINESS [ SEPTEMBER / OCTOBER | 21 ] Entrepreneurs are inspired to start businesses for many different reasons. Sometimes the motivation is driven by the idea of big profits and gains, and other times it’s driven by a desire for independence. A business can be started with the invention of a product that fills a need, and other times from a product that’s going to enhance life or make it better. Then there are businesses like ATL Cigar Company that are inspired by real life events and a passion for a product that can bring people together during times of division. ATL Cigar Company was founded to bring people together around a shared premium cigar experience. The company was founded by husband and wife Leroy and Janelle Lamar and Peter Gross, and the trio began building their company in 2020, when much of the world was forced to slow down in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. The Lamars and Gross wanted to build a brand that reflected their community: It had to feature unique blends and make a connection between the cigar world and the cigar culture found within the diverse city of Atlanta, Georgia. The Lamars and Gross had experience working together before founding ATL Cigar Company. The three started their own hotdog stand nearly 15 years ago while living in southwest Atlanta. Their neighborhood, like much of Atlanta, was seeing an influx of diversity in those moving into it, including new neighbors of different economic backgrounds, ages and ethnicities. The hotdog stand was more than just a business; it became a place where the neighborhood would connect and cross paths. The hotdog stand also taught the trio a valuable lesson: It only took one shared interest, product or even idea to spark a conversation, and those conversations ultimately led to connections, and those connections eventually served as the foundation of meaningful friendships. The hotdog stand didn’t attract just one type of customer. Young and old, churchgoers, professionals, trap-house queens and ex-cons came to the hotdog stand and would interact with one another. With the division and loss of connection experienced by many in 2020, the Lamars and Gross wanted to bring the community together once again—but this time with the help of a good premium cigar. The Connection Leroy Lamar’s first experience with cigars came during his father’s card games, during which one of his friends would often smoke a Swisher Sweet. As he grew older, Leroy would occasionally smoke a Swisher Sweet with his friend, and it wasn’t until he traveled to Jamaica that he had his first premium cigar, a Royal Jamaica. He remembers how this cigar was mild and smooth and refers to it as a “great beginning cigar.” The taste wasn’t what appealed most to Leroy; it was the rhythm of the smoking experience that he enjoyed the most and that pulled him deeper into the world of premium cigars. When he turned 18, Peter Gross’ birthday present to himself was a Swisher Sweet and a subscription to Cigar Aficionado magazine. Half a year later, Gross had graduated to smoking Romeo y Julieta and Cuba Libre cigars. His love of cigars has only grown stronger in the 23 years since that first cigar experience. The Lamars have been married over 20 years, and over the years, cigars have been part of how the couple have chosen to celebrate the end of each week. Through the years, the two entrepreneurs found a way to merge their passion for cigars with other business ventures. Gross’ family has roots in Atlanta that go back 100 years, but it wasn’t until he moved across the street from the Lamars that he began to consider Atlanta his home. As Leroy and Gross began smoking together, soon Leroy’s wife, Janelle, also joined in the festivities and developed her own love for cigars as she found the right cigar and beverage pairings. The friendship between the Lamars and Gross spans 15 years and has been strengthened over the years by a shared love, passion and respect for cigars. The trio would all smoke Cuban cigars together while having long debates on theology and philosophy. Although the three came from different backgrounds and experiences, cigars were the common denominator that brought them all together. “Our connection to each other grew not in spite of but because of the differences we each brought to the table,” Leroy explains. “Our friendship led to a few cigar pilgrimages, and then we started rolling our own products a couple of years ago. That’s when the idea for ATL Cigar Company really began to come together.” The Lamars and Gross wanted to find a way to share with the city of Atlanta what they shared with one another regularly: a love for the leaf and for their community. “We felt the greatest cigar city in America deserved its own great brand of cigars,” says Janelle Lamar. “We saw ATL Cigar Company as a love letter to the city, an opportunity to extend Atlanta the recognition we feel it deserves in the cigar world.” Our connection to each other grew not in spite of but because of the differences we each brought to the table. — Leroy Lamar