Our Story:
Famous Cigars

Since 1939. Still American Family-Owned.

In 1939, Rose Zaretsky opened the doors to a 350 square-foot luncheonette in midtown Manhattan. Three employees stocked cigarette cartons and lottery tickets, while Rose’s young son, Arthur, stood outside greeting patrons as they picked up the Wall Street Journal. As the doors closed every evening, Rose dreamed of providing a fulfilling life for her family; what she never could have expected was that 75 years later, the young boy who stood outside the luncheonette would own Famous Cigars, one of the largest retailers of premium cigars in the United States.

By the 1970s, New York City’s Garment District was bustling, with a cigar shop on every corner. But changes were soon to come. Cigarette smokers were replacing premium cigar smokers. Arthur Zaretsky knew that he wouldn’t be able to support rent at $30 a square foot by selling cigars over the counter. He began gathering information from customers, and by the late 1980s had established a mail order business to supplement the retail store.

By the early 1990s, New York’s cigar tax of 20 percent was prompting Arthur to think of moving out. But it was the debut of Cigar Aficionado magazine in 1992 that led him to act. The magazine’s birth ushered in a cigar boom. To take advantage of the opportunity and expand his business, Arthur knew he would have to invest in technology and a new location.

Moving Famous Cigars represented a huge gamble, professionally and personally. Arthur had spent his life in Manhattan. But his research suggested a move to Florida made financial sense, as most cigars coming into the U.S. were being shipped into Miami. Employees balked, however, and Arthur decided instead to move the store to Pennsylvania, eventually finding a home in the Lehigh Valley.

Famous Today

Famous Cigars is still proudly American family-owned and still at home in the Lehigh Valley, shipping premium cigars nationwide out of a 24,000-square-foot warehouse humidor at 90 Mort Drive. Out front there’s a 2,000-square-foot walk-in where you can shop the same inventory in person. In 2011 we opened Leaf Cigar Bar & Lounge under the same roof, so there’d finally be a proper place to enjoy what we sell.

Rose’s luncheonette is long gone. The idea behind it though – treat the regulars right and they’ll keep coming back – still runs the place. Come see for yourself.