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| GRAND HAVANA GOES INTERNATIONAL |
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Page 1 of 2  Plus: New look for Puros Indios and Cuba AliadosLos Angeles, December 24 – For its members, the Grand Havana Room is one of the more elegant places to enjoy a cigar. First opened in 1995 in Beverly Hills, California – and still going strong – a second opened in New York in 1997. A third opened in Washington, D.C., but closed for lack of interest, but a new Grand Havana is open and building its own clientele. In Moscow, Russia. The newest Grand Havana is the brainchild of American motion picture producer Bob van Ronkel and has at its center what might be the biggest retail-level humidor of all: a member’s locker room for storage of cigars and accessories of 400 square meters or 4,304 square feet! The Moscow version is licensed by the California-based, privately-held Grand Havana Enterprises, which owns and operates the Beverly Hills and New York facilities. The 2006 transaction provided for an up-front license fee for the privilege, plus ongoing royalties for the use of the name. It’s the first successful franchise for Grand Havana, which licensed the name to a Miami operator in 2005, but that club was never opened. Where next? New name for Puros Indios Cigars: Rolando Reyes is universally recognized as one of the world’s great cigar masters and from his factory in Honduras produces the Cuba Aliados, Puros Indios, Roly and other brands. While the production of these quality lines continues, the identity of the company has changed to Reyes Family Cigars. Reyes’s grandson, Carlos Diez, is the new company’s president and wants to bring a new, simpler approach to current and future brands. “We want our own family name to represent us. Whatever we make moving forward will be under this name.” Diez noted that he wants to cut down on the current variety of brands and sizes and simplify the lines, as well as add a new one: “We will launch the ‘Premier’ line in January 2008. This is our first blend under the new corporate name and it will sport a beautiful Costa Rican Maduro wrapper. The binder is from Condega and the filler is from Jalapa, Nicaragua. The blend is bold and will definitely make a statement. This new blend and the name change are a tribute to my grandfather, Rolando Reyes, Sr. I owe everything to him and now is the time to honor his legacy.” The company already makes eight brands in its factory complex near Danli, Honduras: |
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Did you know?
“"A woman is only a woman, but a cigar is a smoke" ~ Rudyard Kipling
