November 11, 2024 Patrick Lagreid Weekly News

Weekly News (Nov. 11, 2024)

With today being Veterans Day, we pause to honor the great service and sacrifice of the brave men and women who serve our great country with selfless dedication and commitment to an ideal higher than any of us. We say a heartfelt thank you to every soldier and sailor who defends not only our country and the rights of its citizens but the values our country holds so dear. We promise to never take for granted your valor, bravery, honor, and courage, today and every day.

Eddy Guerra Leaves Davidoff of Geneva USA

Guerra has earned a solid reputation for his marketing and brand management skills during his career, which included stops with Altadis U.S.A. and Gurkha in addition to his recent time with Davidoff. Given that he said he will be remaining in the cigar industry and has plans to announce more details before the end of the year, I’m incredibly interested to see just what he has in store, whether it be with an existing company or possibly starting a new venture.

Cigars International Opens in Jacksonville

A little more than a year past its planned opening date, Cigars International has its latest store up and running in Jacksonville, Fla. It’s also a bit bigger than announced, covering more than 7,000-square-feet and offering a 1,772-square-foot walk-in humidor, as well as a bar, large lounge, and outdoor seating area. That brings the number of Cigars International locations to 12, with two more confirmed to be in the works and possibly even more beyond that. Cigars International, or CI as it is more commonly called, is part of Scandinavian Tobacco Group, which also owns Thompson Cigar, Cigar Bid, Cigar.com, Pipes and Cigars, and Club Macanudo. It’s the latest chapter in an ongoing shift in the cigar retailing space that has seen what were once catalog and online retailers enter the brick-and-mortar space.

José Seijas, Longtime Tabacalera de García Head & Matilde Founder, Passes Away at 74

Seijas left an indelible mark on the cigar industry, most notably through his long tenure at Tabacalera de García in La Romana, Dominican Republic. Seijas joined Consolidated Cigar Corp. in 1974 at the age of 24, and during his time he would help oversee the transition of the factory from a machine-made operation to a hand-rolled cigar factory. He worked with numerous owners of the factory, steadily rising up the ranks to become general manager and the head blender for the factory, which is home to the non-Cuban versions of Montecristo, Romeo y Julieta, H. Upmann and various other brands that are part of the Altadis U.S.A. portfolio. Following his retirement in 2012, he started Matilde Cigar Co., which is now run by his youngest son, Enrique. I was fortunate to have had several visits with Seijas, and I always appreciated his warmth, hospitality, and willingness to share his knowledge and experience. He will certainly be missed by many.

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  • Belchertown, Mass. Board of Health to Draft Generational Smoking Ban — via GazetteNet.com
  • Nacogdoches, Texas Passes New Tobacco Amendments, Limits Shop Proximity to Schools — via KTRE.com

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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, the G-League's Valley Suns, 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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