How Tampa’s Reign as “The Cigar Capital of the World” Ended
Most cigar lovers know that Tampa, Florida was once known as the “Cigar Capital of the World.”
“Stogies helped transform ‘Tampa town’ from a sleepy fishing village with 700 residents in 1885 to a thriving city of 108,000 two decades later. Back then, 159 factories employed some 13,000 workers as cigar rollers and tobacco strippers,” describes The Tampa Tribune. “A century later, only one major cigar manufacturer remains. . . ”
In fact, Ybor City, Tampa’s historic neighborhood and popular entertainment district, is named for celebrated Spanish-American cigar manufacturer Vicente Martinez Ybor. The “Cigar Capital of the World” title was no doubt aided by the robust productivity coming out of Ybor City, which at one time produced more cigars than Havana.
A number of factors led to Tampa’s cigar industry falling on hard times, however. “Labor strikes, the Great Depression, two world wars, the Cuban Embargo and taxes” hastened the end, says The Tribune. A hefty new federal tax on cigars and other tobacco products back in April 2009 and a seemingly national movement towards indoor smoking bans has helped to blow out any remaining embers in Tampa’s cigar industry.
In June 2009, the city said goodbye to another big piece of history when more than 100 year old cigar producer Hav-A-Tampa in nearby Seffner, Florida shuttered its factory doors.
Do you have any memories of the cigar heyday of Tampa? Or can you share any stories of what Tampa’s cigar scene is like today?
