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And after five years of looking for a location in Danbury, the Scipioni family finally opened their second cigar shop and lounge.
Customers won’t find cigarettes or chewing tobacco in Cigar Republic, Anthony Scipioni said, but if they’re looking for a cigar, they’ll find one they like. The store carries more than 75 brands and several different types from each brand.
The lounge creates "a place where people could relax and slow down, get off the smart phone and leave your worries at work and a place for people to release before they go home or on lunch breaks,” Scipioni said.
But the most important thing has been to create a prime environment for the cigars, which come from all over the world. Some of the best come from Nicaragua and the Dominican Republic, he said.
“Ecuador is growing the best Connecticut wrapper in the world, [a leaf] that originally came from Connecticut, and is the most popular wrapper in the world,” Scipioni said.
When asked why the family chose a location in Danbury, Scipioni said it was because they had friends and family in the area and in Putnam County asking them to open one closer to home.
It’s taken just about a year for the store to be ready for opening, Scipioni said. The building required heavy renovations. It is now able to house the huge humidors, display cases, seating lounge and private lockers for members.
The store even has its own line of cigars, that members on a tasting committee can help choose. The “La Mia” cigar is named after Scipioni’s daughter and is one of his favorite cigars.
Scipioni is one of five brothers who invested in the family business, and he runs both the lounge in Danbury and in Elmsford, N.Y. Three of his brothers run the distribution center in Pennsylvania and the last hasn’t quit his day job on Wall Street yet, but Scipioni thinks he might come on board full time after he retires.
The family has been in the business for 17 years, but their connections with tobacco selling began with their grandfather in Italy generations ago.
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