Cigars International Opens in Fort Worth

Cigars International Fort Worth is officially open.

The world’s largest cigar retailer opened the doors to its second Texas-based store today. It’s the first of three new stores the company plans on opening this summer, the other two are in the Tampa area.

It is located at 12853 Cabela Dr. in Fort Worth, Texas.

Cigars International Fort Worth is modeled after the company’s other North Texas location, its store in The Colony. The company said it learned a few things from The Colony and has made a few changes after customer feedback, though you’d be hard-pressed to tell the two stores apart.

Fort Worth is slightly larger with a 5,000-square-foot interior, 2,400-square-foot of which is for the humidor. The larger change is the patio, which is over 3,000-square-foot, more than 1,000-square-foot larger than The Colony location.

The basic formula remains the same. The store is designed to look like a tobacco curing barn, albeit one that might be more reminiscent of a hunting lodge from the outside. It’s a single-level location with a large walk-in humidor that is visible through floor-to-ceiling interior glass. A large full-service bar occupies the other end of the store and seating is available throughout. Cigars International does not offer memberships nor food.

Most of the changes aren’t entirely obvious. There’s a small conference room that people will be able to reserve if they want private space, but it’s hidden behind a door in the humidor. The bar area has moved where its taps are so that people, including staff, can see easier around the bar. And the outside firepits have been redesigned with protective glass so that customers can sit next to them without risk of catching their clothes on fire.

Perhaps the most notable change is one that customers will never see. The store has a humidified room in the back that could serve as a warehouse. The idea being that Cigars International could have products shipped to one centralized location for its Texas stores instead of shipping to each store independently. While no future expansion has been announced, the company is interested in adding more stores in the North Texas area.

halfwheel toured the facility last week during the final stages of set-up and even now certain things are still being completed. For example, the bar area is not open and still needs some last-minute finishes. It’s likely to open in the future with limited capacity due to coronavirus COVID-19 precautions.

Cigars International is also in the final stages of construction for its two Florida stores both in the Tampa area. Last year the company submitted plans for a 9,500-square-foot store at 2691 Creek Grass Way in Lutz, Fla., about 20 miles north of downtown Tampa. The company also submitted plans for a 9,985-square-foot location at 10660 Palm River Road, roughly 12 miles east of the Tampa International Airport. Both stores are on track to open this summer.

Fort Worth is the fifth Cigars International store to open, the other three are in Pennsylvania. Cigars International is a subsidiary of Scandinavian Tobacco Group, which also owns General Cigar Co. The company also operates Cigar.com, CigarBid.com, PipesAndCigars.com, Thompson Cigar Co. and Club Macanudo, a cigar bar in Manhattan.

Update (July 23, 2020) — The original version of this story indicated that the location at 10660 Palm River Rd. was three miles from the airport, it is in fact over 12 miles away from the Tampa airport.