September 27, 2022 Patrick Lagreid News

Hurricane Ian Lands in Cuba’s Pinar del Río, Tobacco Farms Damaged & Electric Grid Fails

Following Hurricane Ian making landfall in Western Cuba on Tuesday morning as a Category 3 storm with sustained winds of 125 mph, initial reports from the island have indicated that the Pinar del Río region, where premium tobacco for cigars is grown, has sustained significant damage.

Update — On Tuesday evening, Cuba suffered a national blackout due to a power grid failure. The Ministry of Energy and Mines said it is working to restore power tonight and on Wednesday.

The storm made landfall at approximately 4:30 am local time, and a Tweet sent from the account of the First Secretary of the Communist Party indicated that more than 40,000 residents in the Pinar del Río region were evacuated, and that the damage in the region is considerable, with fallen trees, damage to homes and tobacco barns, as well as damage to roads that have made some impassable.

Amongst the tobacco farms affected is the legendary Finca Robaina, the farm of the late Alejandro Robaina, now managed by his grandson, Hirochi Robaina. Images from Hirochi Robaina provided to halfwheel show a tobacco barn partially collapsed as well as complete destruction to other buildings and equipment.

Habanos S.A. has not yet issued a statement about the storm and the damage it has caused.

Hurricane Ian is now making its way towards the Tampa, Fla. region, which is home to a number of cigar companies including Arturo Fuente, Davidoff of Geneva USA, J.C. Newman, Tabanero Cigars and a number of smaller, local cigar makers and retailers.

J.C. Newman’s El Reloj factory and Tampa headquarters is located less than a few miles from Tampa Bay.

Yesterday, Arturo Fuente and J.C. Newman, both based in the Ybor neighborhood of Tampa, announced that they would close Tuesday-Thursday to give its employees the opportunity to prepare for the storm. Davidoff of Geneva USA, based in Pinellas Park, is also closed starting today. All three companies said they hoped to resume operations this Friday.

Retailers are also impacted by the storm. Cigars International has closed both of its stores in the Tampa area beginning today; Tampa Humidor is set to close tomorrow evening. Further down Florida’s west coast, BURN by Rocky Patel in Naples is closed today because the mall it is located in has closed for hurricane preparations. That said, Rocky Patel Premium Cigars, Inc.—also based in Naples, remains open for the time being.

This is a developing story and will be updated as more information becomes available. Charlie Minato contributed to this story.

Images via Hirochi Robaina (h/t TD)

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Patrick Lagreid

I strive to capture the essence of a cigar and the people behind them in my work – every cigar you light up is the culmination of the work of countless people and often represents generations of struggle and stories. For me, it’s about so much more than the cigar – it’s about the story behind it, the experience of enjoying the work of artisans and the way that a good cigar can bring people together. In addition to my work with halfwheel, I’m the public address announcer for the Colorado Rockies and Arizona Diamondbacks during spring training, as well as for the Salt River Rafters of the Arizona Fall League, the WNBA's Phoenix Mercury and previously the Arizona Rattlers of the Indoor Football League. I also work in a number of roles for Major League Baseball, plus I'm a voice over artist. Prior to joining halfwheel, I covered the Phoenix and national cigar scene for Examiner.com, and was an editor for Cigar Snob magazine.

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