One of the most visited cigar stores in the world will be closing at the start of the new year.

Sosa Family Cigars in Disney Springs, Fla. will have its final day on Monday, Jan. 2, 2023. It ends a more than 25-year partnership between the Sosa family and Disney. The family previously had a cigar bar called Fuego by Sosa, which was located in Disney’s Pleasure Island until it closed in 2013.

“Honestly, it was just time,” said Arby Sosa in a message to halfwheel. “We had an amazing run of over 25 years. The last two years were the best two years when it came to sales. We are thankful for Disney having my family as a tenant for over a quarter of a century.”

While Disney banned smoking inside of all its parks in 2019, the store’s location in Disney Springs—technically, outside of the confines of a park—meant that smoking was still allowed.

“Without my cousin Alex Sosa running the show, the store wouldn’t have been as amazing as it was for so many years,” said Arby Sosa.

In addition to the store, the Sosa family sells cigars under its own name through Antillian Cigar Corp. The family’s tobacco roots began in the early 20th century in Cuba and continued in both Miami and the Dominican Republic. In the mid-1990s, Juan B. Sosa began working for Arturo Fuente and the family has enjoyed a longstanding relationship with Arturo Fuente ever since, something that is evident in the Disney Springs store itself.

Image via Facebook/Sosa Family Cigar Co. of Orlando

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Charlie Minato

I am an editor and co-founder of halfwheel.com/Rueda Media, LLC. I previously co-founded and published TheCigarFeed, one of the two predecessors of halfwheel. I have written about the cigar industry for more than a decade, covering everything from product launches to regulation to M&A. In addition, I handle a lot of the behind-the-scenes stuff here at halfwheel. I enjoy playing tennis, watching boxing, falling asleep to the Le Mans 24, wearing sweatshirts year-round and eating gyros. echte liebe.