U.S. Senator Ashley Moody Visits J.C. Newman Cigar Co.

Drew Newman, Bobby Newman, Senator Ashley Moody, Liana Fuente, Manny Garcia, and Joshua Habursky.

Yesterday, the Fuente and Newman families welcomed U.S. Senator Ashley Moody to J.C. Newman’s historic El Reloj cigar factory in the “Cigar City” of Tampa, Florida.  They shared their stories as two four-generation, century-old family businesses.  As they walked Sen. Moody through the 115-year-old factory, they explained the art, tradition, and culture of handcrafted premium cigars.  The tour included the Cigar Vault, which houses the world’s largest collection of vintage cigars, the oldest cigars in the world, and the last bale of pre-Embargo Cuban tobacco in the United States.

Joshua Habursky, executive director of the Premium Cigar Association, and Jeff Borysiewicz, former Chairman of Cigar Rights of America and founder and owner of Corona Cigar Co., joined the visit and educated Sen. Moody on the regulatory challenges that the premium cigar industry has been fighting for the past 15 years. 

In January, Sen. Moody was appointed to fill the seat vacated by Marco Rubio when he was confirmed as the Secretary of State.  Sen. Moody is the first person from the Tampa Bay Area to serve in the United States Senate. She shared that she has a deep appreciation for Tampa’s historic cigar tradition.

J.C. Newman’s El Reloj cigar factory is the last traditional cigar factory still operating in the United States.  In addition to rolling 60,000 cigars per day, it operates as a living history museum.  Last year, more than 20,000 people visited its cigar museum, took a guided factory tour, participated in a cigar-rolling class, or attended an event.  El Reloj is the top-ranked museum in Tampa in TripAdvisor.