America’s Oldest Family Owned Cigar Manufacturer
But rather than ask for presents, the nation’s oldest family-owned cigar company is giving gifts.
The J.C. Newman Cigar Museum recently opened in their Ybor City factory at 2701 N. 16th St. and offers guided 90-minute tours of an operation that produces 12 million cigars a year.
Admission is free, but the tours cost $15 per person and must be booked in advance via their website www.jcnewman.com.
“This is our birthday gift to the city,” third-generation company president Eric Newman said. “Tampa used to have 150 cigar factories. That is why we are called Cigar City. We built this museum to showcase the way that Tampa was. Walking into our factory is like walking back in time.”
Founded in 1895 by Julius Caeser Newman, J.C. Newman Cigar Company is the oldest family-owned premium cigar maker in America. For four generations and 125 years, J.C. Newman has been handcrafting many of the world’s finest cigars. J.C. Newman is headquartered in an iconic 110-year-old cigar factory in the Ybor City National Historic Landmark District in Tampa, Florida. At this factory, known as “El Reloj,” J.C. Newman rolls premium cigars both by hand and by hand-operated, antique cigar machines.
The J.C. Newman PENSA cigar factory is the second largest in Nicaragua and is where Brick House, Perla del Mar, El Baton, and Quorum cigars are hand rolled. J.C. Newman’s Diamond Crown, MAXIMUS, Julius Caeser, and Black Diamond cigars are handmade by Tabacalera A. Fuente in the Dominican Republic. With its longtime partners the Arturo Fuente family, the Newmans founded the Cigar Family Charitable Foundation, which supports low-income families in the Dominican Republic with education, health care, vocational training, and clean water.
Here are the J.C. Newman cigar brands sold at The Cigar Store.