Today we’d like to introduce you to Endy Diaz.
Hi Endy, can you start by introducing yourself? We’d love to learn more about how you got to where you are today.
We are a Veteran Owned and Operated business. Our ownership group is native to Dominican Republic to include Jose Luis Martinez, “Don Luis,” who is a 4th generation cigar blender and roller. When we started our goal was to bring a little taste of home to San Diego. Cigar making is one of the top industries in Dominican Republic, and we want to share that experience with everyone who lives and visits San Diego. It’s been almost two years since we opened our doors, and since then we were able to obtain federal permits to import Tobacco and to manufacture our cigars in our factory located in Old town San Diego. Currently, you can come by the shop and find us rolling some of the best cigars you will smoke in the world! We have our own brand, “Don Luis” Cigars, and our own unique blends!
Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way? Looking back, would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
There will always be obstacles when starting a company from scratch. Few of our struggles were negotiating with the federal and local governments to acquire all the permits and licenses we needed. We also had to establish brand presence for our cigars locally and national. We are a self-funded group, so we had to work together to really bring this vision to life.
Thanks – so what else should our readers know about The Art of Cigar?
We are a Tobacco/Cigars business. Our cigars are made of 100% Aged Tobacco that has been processed for at least 3-5 years. We specialized in Blending cigars to create a unique taste that’s not replicable. For example, we can make a variation of 20 different cigars using the same 3-5 leafs.
What sets us apart is our experience. We have been in the business for over 4 generations. Our knowledge and experienced is unmatched in the market. “Don Luis” has been the primary blender and roller for companies like Arturo Fuente, La Galera, and Gran Havana to name a few.
Our brand is one of the few if not the only, where the “Maestro” blender “Don Luis” has a staked in the company. We seek to give back and highlight those who are the real Artist in the industry. In just two years, when we started, no one knew our brand, know there are cigar smokers that only smoke “Don Luis” because of the quality and price point of our cigars.
We have a very unique business proposition here in San Diego. We do Live Rolling for special events such as corporate, weddings, birthdays, etc. We also do custom blended cigars for other companies serving as a white label. We have the capabilities of doing small orders at our San Diego Factory, or we can accommodate large orders at our Santiago, DR factory. We are a one-stop shop for anyone trying to break in the cigar industry.
Risk-taking is a topic that people have widely differing views on – we’d love to hear your thoughts.
I am a huge risk taker; therefore, the company takes on a bit of my personality. I believe that sometimes not taking a risk is taking a risk. Most people, in my opinion, will wage risk by taking finance or money-related risk. For me is time. I can always make more money, but time and opportunity does have a makeup time.
Pricing:
- Gran Toro 60 X6 “Don Luis” $25 each (top-selling cigar)
- Robusto 50X5 $10 each
- Toro 52X6 $13.50 each
- Torito 60X4.5 $15 Each
- Clasiquito (cigarrillo size) 38X4.5 $7 Each
Contact Info:
- Website: Theartofcigar.co
- Instagram: Theartofcigarsd
