08/11/2026
Enjoying the fantastic Romeo y Julieta Reserve Real Nicaragua Profundo (can they make the name any longer? Lol) this slow work morning. Thinking about 27 years. That's a nickel shy of half my life. I always think a lot about dad on the shop's anniversary. I think about sitting around the water garden smoking ci**rs and putting the idea of a cigar shop into motion.
We literally knew nothing, bit had an idea of what we wanted. The goal was to have a welcoming store where people could feel comfortable. A place where customers could sit down and enjoy their cigar with a cup of coffee and conversation.
The mission was to sell premium ci**rs at fair prices. Quality and price had to balance. I still hold true to that ideal which is why there are ci**rs and brands I just don't keep in stock.
Dad, mom and I worked hard putting everything together, from the humidors and ci**rs to the look of our "man cave" shop, and Valley Ci**rs was born in August of 1999. Many of you have met my mom, Kathy, over the years. She doesn't get enough credit for the shop. Without her, Valley Ci**rs wouldn't exist. She's been the shop's guiding force of common sense all these years, just as she has for me for all of my 59 years. And let's face it, keeping me in line isn't easy. I gave her most of her gray hair. Lol.
If the early years there was no wifi or cable. We played hundreds of games of pinochle and listened to the radio. We carried all legacy brands. The Dominican Republic was the king of ci**rs and Nicaraguan ci**rs were in their infancy. Today, we watch sports on the TV and surf the internet while smoking our ci**rs. I also mix in boutique brands, always looking for something my customers would like.
We lost dad and many other customers who became friends over the years. As life goes on, people move in and out of our lives. Through all of it the shop's been here, a small mom and pop refuge from the craziness of life. Had a bad day? You can stop in and slow the world down with a relaxing smoke. We solve the world's problems in our lounge and cheer our favorite teams to victory.
The shop's got more years behind it than we do in front of us. After all, all good things must come to an end. Until the end I'll be here helping introduce new customers to the world of ci**rs. To all our customers, from our regulars to the newbies, thank you for being a part of our lives over the last 27 years. It's been an honor to serve the Lebanon Valley.
Stop in Thursday from 5-8 pm when we're celebrating with Altadis' Tom Stroud. We'll have great specials, swag and refreshments. Also, the MLB Field of Dreams game will be on.