Last night, Hurricane Milton landed just south of our home in Tampa, Florida. This major hurricane was the worst storm to strike the “Cigar City” in more than 100 years. The Newman family is relieved to report that its 114-year-old El Reloj cigar factory has survived Hurricane Milton with minor damage and no power. After being closed for three days, J.C. Newman expects to reopen and resume rolling and shipping cigars tomorrow morning unless it takes longer to restore electrical service.
“The last time a major hurricane struck Tampa was in 1921,” said fourth-generation owner Drew Newman. “Our iconic El Reloj cigar factory survived the 1921 storm, and I am relieved to report that it survived Hurricane Milton as well. The factory experienced some leaks and minor water damage, but that is not uncommon for our 90,000-square-foot, 114-year-old, historic red brick building. My family and I are tremendously grateful to our security team members who rode out the storm in El Reloj, protecting the building and all of the cigars and tobacco that are inside.”
If you ever wondered what cigar makers do while evacuating, Drew Newman used the time to crowdsourced ideas for a new “HURRICANE” cigar on social media.
“While we evacuated during Hurricane Idalia last year, I thought the name ‘HURRICANE’ would be perfect for a cigar so I registered it with the U.S. Trademark office,” said Newman. “As I hadn’t figured out yet what the perfect HURRICANE cigar should be, while evacuating again yesterday, I asked our followers on social media for advice and received hundreds of great ideas. As soon as our factory reopens, I am going to start working to create this new cigar so that we can release it at the start of next year’s hurricane season on June 1.”
In addition to the historic El Reloj factory, the Sanchez y Haya building across the street survived Hurricane Milton as well. The Newmans are in the midst of restoring this building, which is also 114-year-old. When it reopens in 2026, the building will feature an 11-room luxury inn on the second floor with an upscale restaurant and elegant cigar lounge on the first floor to serve the cigar enthusiasts who visit El Reloj and the “Cigar City” of Tampa, Florida.
