Premium Cigar Association (PCA): Tell us about your shop.
Frank D’Alesio: The Black River Tobacco Company started in 2021 out of a passion for cigar smoking, spending time with friends and family, and the enjoyment derived from the overall cigar experience. We are a female majority-owned company: Victoria D’Alesio, who is 27-years-old, and two partners, Frank D’Alesio and Ronald Heim Jr.
We were a mobile event company, where we attended different festivals, fairs and events around North Carolina. We still continue to do events that relate to the City of Dunn. After a yearlong search for the right space we signed our lease in July 2024, and in October of 2024 we opened our brick-and-mortar cigar bar and lounge. We had great contractors and in less than three months we were able to restore a 100-year-old building that had sat vacant for more than 40 years.
In addition to our cigar selections, we have a great variety of bourbons and other distilled spirits as well as beer, wine and a free espresso bar that can complement the cigar smoking experience.
How many brands do you carry? How do you curate your selections?
Our collection started with a vast array of both legacy and boutique brands. We currently have in excess of 50 brands in our humidors in constant rotation. Our goal is to provide the cigars our customers ask for while introducing them to cigars they may not have tried based on their palate.
What’s your best marketing tool for promoting your business?
We are currently marketing through social media, including Instagram and Facebook. We also have our membership program which allows us to message and email our members with new information relating to events or new cigars we are bringing in. And word of mouth has been very much a part of our growth, and continues to be.
What’s the best piece of advice you received from someone about your store?
My good friend Mario Caraballo, from Casa Caraballo Cigars, provided these words of wisdom on numerous occasions while we were building our business. “Listen to your customers and what they are looking for when it comes to the lounge and their smoking experience. Your customers will come to the lounge for the cigars, but more so for the owners, how comfortable and welcome they feel, and the overall service that is provided.”
Why join the PCA? What do you hope to get out of your PCA membership?
Joining the PCA brings us into the community of fellow cigar enthusiasts and business owners. Being new to the cigar industry, we are open to taking advice and learning as much as we can because everyone has something to offer that might be useful to us. We don’t believe in reinventing the wheel and are willing to seek the help of those who have already been down this path. We are also excited about the Women of the PCA group and for Victoria’s future involvement with them.
This story first appeared in PCA The Magazine, Volume 1, 2025. To receive a copy of this magazine you must be a current member of PCA. Join or renew today at premiumcigars.org/membership.