Nick Cassanelli, co-owner of Connecticut Cigar Co.
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Stamford”™s Bank Street has been the home to the Connecticut Cigar Co. for the past year, with the business thriving; taking in members, setting roots, scheduling events and looking to the future.
The store sells hand-rolled cigars made by a specialist who goes by the name of Max.
Connecticut Cigar Co. also sells premium cigars by such top-shelf producers as Rocky Patel, Fuentes and Partagas, as well as tobacco accessories.
“I”™ve always had a passion for cigars,” said Peter Falcetti, co-owner of Connecticut Cigar Co.
Falcetti, a Stamford resident, was looking for a comparable experience to the New York City cigar rooms that he frequents.
“Pete loved the New York-style cigar shops, loved the New York-style cigar lounges,” said Nick Casinelli, co-owner of the company. “He was new to Stamford and realized there wasn”™t anything in Stamford matching up to that New York style of shops and lounges, yet there was a lot of New York-style business being done in Stamford.”
With several luxury towers being built in the city and RBS on its way, Falcetti gained the confidence he needed to set up shop.
“There really isn”™t anything else on this scale in the area,” said Falcetti. “There are a few variety stores that sell the typical cellophane-wrapped cigars, and the nice ones in Connecticut don”™t let you smoke in them.”
According to Casinelli, the holidays give the cigar room an influx of business.
“Cigars, unlike cigarettes, is a very social thing,” Casinelli said. “There are obviously people who smoke cigars because they enjoy it, and they”™ll have cigars on their own, but for the most part it is a very social form of entertainment. Prior to me joining, Peter did a lot of leg work to get members to come here. When we first opened there was a good group of guys who right away got the concept of a members club.”
The company currently has about 20 members.
Before joining Connecticut Cigar as an owner, Casinelli, also a Stamford resident was an artist and repertoire representative at Atlantic Records and then worked with Columbia Records.
“It was a great run, I had really good successes, and enjoyed myself enormously,” Casinelli said.
After becoming disenchanted with the music business, he divested.
“Peter needed someone to take this to the next step,” he said. “To me this is not only about cigars, it”™s also about the social environment. I”™m applying different entertainment ideas and networking ideas here.”
The bottom line for the business is that people have to experience it to really appreciate it, he said.
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Max rolls a cigar.
“Over the summer we started going out to a lot of country clubs and just basically golf outings and we would bring our cigars and roll cigars at these outings and guys would smoke them. Right there business immediately turned up because not only were people smoking them but we ended up getting online orders and guys coming in to check out the shop and the lounge.”
Casinelli said the company”™s hand-rolled cigars provide a huge offering for the company as a regional, homegrown business.
“Years ago there were a lot of regional businesses,” Cassanelli said. “My first step was to become like a little regional cigar business; we”™ll start in the tri-state area and move up to the Northeast and a little farther west into Pennsylvania.”
According to Cassanelli, it”™s important to let people know the company is creating these cigars in house.
“Hence the name, the Connecticut Cigar Company,” he said. “We”™ve made this our base. People know our cigars are from right here, made close by, close to where they live, and they support it, not only because they are good cigars, but because it is a good regional business to support.”
The company blends three types of tobaccos; Dominican, Nicaraguan and Honduran.
“You know we spend the money on good tobacco, we spend the money on good leaf, and that”™s the type of product we want to put out,” Casinelli said. “We have a place to call your own; we”™re open until 11 every night. It”™s a good place to kind of philosophize a little bit. It gives you that place to have a discussion and meet people you wouldn”™t otherwise meet.”
He said he has also made efforts to take the gender stigma out of cigar smoking though it remains a male-dominated pastime.
“Typically, whenever a lady comes in here some are a little apprehensive; we”™ll find a cigar they can enjoy, and typically, they will walk out of here saying it was a lot of fun,” Casinelli said. “So we”™re trying to conquer that men”™s club kind of atmosphere.”
He said the business is looking to expand into Hartford as well as to continue to have the cigars sold in shops around the state.
“I want to work with cigar shops, and have our cigars represented their store as well; let people know I can go to this store in Hartford and get this really good cigar made in Stamford.”
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