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Rio Cigars opened its first retail store just three
years ago, but sometime early next year this hugely successful Doral
company will open its fifth.
Co-Owner Robert Velazquez of Rio Cigars
Co-Owners Robert Velazquez and Ismael Gonzalez (along
with a third owner that has since sold out his share) decided to
locate in Doral three years ago after careful market research.
They had been wholesale cigar dealers in South Florida
and Puerto Rico for three years before getting into retail and were
able to carefully examine the demographics of their clientele before
they made their decision.
"Our third partner, he was also in the
telecommunications business, did door-to-door sales in South Florida
and found he did more business in Doral than anywhere else. That
initially interested us, and as we studied the area more it became
clear that this was the place to be," Velazquez said.
Rio Cigars isn't just a "cigar store", they
are tobacconists in every sense of the word. They sell premium cigars,
lighters, cutters, ashtrays, humidors, pipes, pipe tobacco, and some
apparel. But, Velazquez said, they do have a specialty.
"We specialize in hard-to-find cigars--not the
stuff you find in your corner drug store... Products that aren't easy
to get a hold of--for instance we currently have cigars like the La
Aurora Preferidos, the Padron Anniversary, the Ashton Maduro, and the
Partagas Limited Reserve," he said.
The Doral store was an immediate winner--and that
success has fueled the company's growth to its other locations. Rio
Cigars currently has other stores in the Dadeland Mall, St. Thomas in
the Virgin Islands, the Cherry Creek mall in Colorado, and the
new one is planned for Boulder, CO. Other locations are in the works
for Las Vegas and Coconut Grove.
"We looked at other spaces in Doral, but when we
saw our current location was available and realized the traffic we'd
see daily as a result of it and the caliber of that traffic--lots of
business people--we knew it was the right place to be. It was
successful right away; in fact, other than the St. Thomas store, it
has been the most profitable of all of them," he said.
Their Colorado stores have full- service bars in
addition to the tobacco products--a feature that the other two don't
have.
Right now their Doral store has a lounge area with
leather couches, big-screen satellite television, periodicals, and
complimentary coffee and expresso but they would eventually like to
convert the back room into a bar area.
They have continued to make wholesale and mail order
service available in all their stores and every order over $100 even
gets free shipping.
Both owners of Rio Cigars are South Florida natives--Velazquez
attended Southridge High, Miami-Dade Community College, and UM, and
Gonzalez went to Coral Gables High and FIU--and continue to stay very
involved in the community. They co-host a number of charitable events
including golf tournaments with Miami Dolphins Charities, and other
charities through several local churches and the local law enforcement
and the fire department. Rio also sponsors a number of local youth
basketball teams.
Rio Cigars is located at 7902 NW 36th Street #9 and
you can reach them at 305 994 3599.
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