J.C. Newman Unveils Diamond Crown Lounge At Corona Cigar Co. In Tampa
Tampa-based J.C. Newman Cigar Co. has once again joined forces with one of Florida’s most prominent retailers, Corona Cigar Co., to open a Diamond Crown Lounge in the retailer’s Cigar City location. The lounge was formally unveiled at a grand opening celebration last Thursday, April 18. The new spot marks the 36th Diamond Crown Lounge in the United States, and the second collaboration with Corona Cigar, which has housed a Diamond Crown Lounge in Orlando since 2008.
Diamond Crown has been a staple of J.C. Newman's portfolio for nearly 30 years. The cigars are made by the Fuente family at Tabacalera A. Fuente y Cia. in the Dominican Republic. J.C. Newman has expanded the brand numerous times over the years, and plans to do so again later this year to commemorate this newest collaboration. Called Diamond Crown Tampa, the new cigar will be rolled with tobaccos grown in Florida by Jeff Borysiewicz, owner of Corona Cigar Co. and Florida Sun Grown LLC, a tobacco farm in Florida.
Borysiewicz’s Florida tobacco is no stranger to the J.C. Newman portfolio, which features his tobacco in such brands as The American and the LeRoy Neiman Collectors Edition.
“My family and I have been friends with the Newmans for more than 20 years,” says Borysiewicz. “I fondly remember when Stanford Newman gave me my first Diamond Crown cigar. It was an outstanding luxury cigar then, and it remains an outstanding luxury cigar today.”
Borysiewicz has expanded Corona Cigar Co. into five brick-and-mortars across the Sunshine State, including the gorgeous Tampa location near the airport, located just a short drive from J.C. Newman’s Ybor City headquarters.
“We are so proud to have a Diamond Crown Cigar Lounge in our hometown,” says Eric Newman. “Because Tampa is ‘Cigar City,’ it is important to us that cigar enthusiasts have a first-class location to enjoy luxury cigars like Diamond Crown.”
J.C. Newman opened its first Diamond Crown Cigar Lounge back in 2007 in Maryland. Since then, the cigarmakers have opened three dozen additional locations across the country. For their newest location, the entire 5,000 square-foot Corona Cigar Co. Tampa store is technically a Diamond Crown Cigar Lounge, taking the place of what was once a Davidoff of Geneva lounge.
There’s also a new, private Diamond Crown room on the second floor for store members who have cigar lockers. Plenty of tables and chairs line this 450 square-foot space, along with many of the J.C. Newman Vintage Ashtrays, meant to resemble the famous ashtrays found at New York City’s Stork Club in days of yesteryear. There’s ample seating and space throughout the rest of the store should this upper area reach capacity, including a large, well-stocked bar.
The lounge will also house rare selections of the Diamond Crown brand and other lines from the J.C. Newman portfolio, including The American, Angel Cuesta and LeRoy Neiman Collectors Edition.
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