The devasting impact of Hurricane Helene, which decimated thousands of lives in western North Carolina, didn’t spare those in the premium cigar industry.
Casablanca Cigar Bar, in the historic Biltmore Village section of Asheville, North Carolina, was destroyed and is now trying to recover from the impact of 24 feet of water flooding its flagship location.
“The structure is standing, but that’s about it,” said Brooke Souhail, owner of Casablanca Cigar Bar. “The inventory was completely covered in mud, so we’ll need to gut the whole place and start over. But we’re resilient, we’re not afraid of hard work, so we’ll be doing whatever we can to get reopened as soon as possible.”
According to Brooke, the rebuild could take nine months or more. In the meantime, they have enhanced their e-commerce website (casablancacigarbar.com) and have established a GoFundMe page (https://www.gofundme.com/f/help-rebuild-casablanca-cigar-bar) to help with the significant costs not covered by insurance.
Brooke said the outpouring of support from the cigar industry has been inspirational.
“It has been amazing. Our Foundation rep Nathan Joudry was there, shovel in hand a few days after,” she said. “Bobby Newman has been in touch with us. Havana Phil’s Cigar Lounge, out of Greensboro, North Carolina, set me up with a load of gas and water when there was a gas shortage. All of our reps have called to check on us. The cigar community has been spectacular.”
This story first appeared in PCA The Magazine, Volume 4, 2024. To receive a copy of this magazine you must be a current member of PCA. Join or renew today at premiumcigars.org/membership.