By Mike Morsch, Packet Media Goup
When one walks by A Little Taste of Cuba on Witherspoon Street in Princeton, the distinct aroma of cigars — and sometimes pipes — is prevalent from the doorway.
Visitors poking their heads inside can, at various times, see guys — it’s mostly guys who smoke cigars and pipes — sitting in four black leather chairs, shooting the breeze or discussing the events of the day, like news or sports.
It’s a place that many come to for a while to get away from the pressures of the real world, a place where one can get a little taste of the community as well.
”You know what you’re coming into. We’re tobacconists, cigars and pipes,” said Jorge Armenteros, owner of A Little Taste of Cuba. “Luxury tobacco, more than anything is a vacation, a respite. If you’re smoking a great cigar, sometimes it forces you to block out everything else. You start to relax, you watch the smoke. There is a community that that builds around that. These people come in from their high-stress jobs — whether it’s an office gig or manual labor — and when you come in here, that cigar is your focus. And the guy next to you has the same values as you. He’s here to relax and enjoy himself. Just unplug from the insanity of our current lives. This is an oasis from the outside world.”
But smoke isn’t the only aroma that’s detectable coming from the shop. One only needs to talk to Mr. Armenteros for a few minutes to realize his sense of community and what it means to him to be celebrating the 20th anniversary this year of A Little Taste of Cuba at the same location, 70 Witherspoon St.
That other aroma? That’s the smell of success.
And with that comes expansion. Before the end of the year, Mr. Armenteros hopes to have finished his expansion project, which will include the property right next door at 72 Witherspoon St.
It’s been in the works for about six months now. A multi-staged process, the two properties will be connected. The lounge area will be expanded to accommodate up to 20 customers who want to come in, sit and relax with a smoke.
”What we’re doing is we’re trying to expand our lounge area so we have more room for our customers. Currently when it’s busy, we don’t have enough room,” said Mr. Armenteros, who also owns a second shop, also called A Little Taste of Cuba, in New Hope, Pennsylvania. “But with that comes the need to pay for it all. So we’re going to have to augment our merchandising. The key to that is increasing the amount of premium and luxury cigars that we sell.”
The current building has an air-cleaning filtration system built into the ceiling, and the expanded area will include a state-of-the-art ventilation and filtration system.Mr. Armenteros, and all of his employees, are certified tobacconists, which means they are trained to understand their customers’ needs and preferences and they pair those with the perfect product for that particular smoker.
According to Mr. Armenteros, a Hopewell resident who has also written a book titled, “The Tobacconist Handbook: The Essential Guides to Cigars & Pipes,” tobacconists are the last step in the long process which begins in the tobacco fields and ends with the smoker.
In that regard, Mr. Armenteros is also sensitive to the fact that not everybody likes tobacco.
”That’s my concern, it always is. Obviously our customers love us. Most people are fine with us existing, even if they don’t like cigars. Often when people learn about how a great cigar is made, they’ll have a much greater appreciation for it. But we don’t want to overwhelm the community with the aroma,” he said.Still, he has customers who come into the store just for the smell.
”We have people that will buy pipe tobaccos that don’t smoke, just to put them in their car because they love the smell. And oftentimes there is a positive link to an association with a grandfather or a father. Or just a place you used to go,” Mr. Armenteros said.
In addition to owning A Little Taste of Cuba and personally overseeing and working on the expansion, Mr. Armenteros is also the founder and president of Tobacconist University. It’s the only education program that certifies luxury tobacconists.
”I have a deep love for the profession, and ultimately my goal is to see it live on for generations to come, because the products that we represent are extraordinary and it takes a lot of knowledge to be able to even talk intelligently about them,” he said.
When he was searching for the right location to open his shop 20 years ago, he looked in New York, Connecticut and New Jersey before deciding on the Princeton location.
”It was an easy town to fall in love with. I was very fortunate to end up here,” Mr. Armenteros said. “It was a real blessing. I’m not big on celebrating things but 20 years is really exciting. So much has transpired. Countless friendships, business deals, relationships. Kids that weren’t born when I got here are in college or are graduating. It’s a little shocking. I used to be thinner and had more hair, too.”
But when he looks out the front door of A Little Taste of Cuba, what he sees most is community.
”It’s beautiful. If you just peer out, you can see the main gates of the university. We’ve seen the town grow up in many ways. This library didn’t exist when we came here. It’s gorgeous,” he said of the Princeton Public Library, which is across the street from his shop. “I love the view, the traffic. You see people come and go. You see them get older. It’s a charming town. You couldn’t find a better community in which to do business.”
A Little Taste of Cuba is located at 70 Witherspoon St., Princeton. For more information, go to cubacigar.com or call 609-683-8988.
