Foundation Cigar Co. Issues Statement Regarding AJ Fernandez Fire

April 2, 2025 By Matthew Tabacco

A few days ago, AJ Fernandez suffered a devastating fire at their main factory in Esteli, Nicaragua. Some of the brands they work with to produce cigars have issued statements. One of this was Nicholas Melillo of Foundation Cigar Co who sent this out yesterday:

“Our production partner, AJ Fernandez, recently experienced a fire at their facility in Estelí, Nicaragua. We are incredibly grateful to report that everyone is safe and sound. The fire did unfortunately impact packaging materials and finished, aging cigar inventory. As a result, we will experience delays and limited availability of certain products in the near future. We ask for your patience and support during this time as we work closely with our partners to manage the situation. Please reach out to your Foundation sales representative for updates and to discuss product availability. Thank you for standing with us—we remain committed to delivering the highest quality cigars you’ve come to expect from Foundation.”

Nick made a comment on social media responding to a question from someone asking about what cigars specifically were impacted to which he replied “Tabernacle and Olmec” were mostly affected.

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