Metro Cigar News Holiday 1998: De La Concha

Any day now

for De La Concha seems like forever

Much like a prisoner straining at his shackles, the famed tobacconist, De La Concha, has been waiting to be freed from the embrace of scaffolding greeting visitors to its huge vaults of fine cigars.

"I'll believe it when I se it," laughs Lionel Melendi, De La Concha president. "That scaffolding has been up since August of 1997."

Melendi, who with hi two sons, Randy and Ron, operate the fine shop, has been in the throes of a major renovation and expansion, seeking to provide his customers with the finest facilities available.

"We've been at this location (1390 Avenue of the Americas in New York City) for more than 35 years," Melendi said. "We just felt it was time to undertake this expansion so that our high level of service could continue."

Included in the expansion will be a 20 x 20 foot square humidor stocking the finest cigars available in the United States.

"We simply needed more room," he said. "Business was increasing and we weren't able to fully display all the fine cigars we wanted to carry. The opportunity came along to take over the store next door on a long-term lease and we jumped at the chance."

The new facilities will include a private room, cigar vault lined on the ceilings and walls with Spanish cedar and will have lockers for De La Concha's patrons.

The new facilities will permit the stocking of more than 100 brands, ranging from Davidoff and Partagas to Estevan Cruz, H. Upmann and La Flor Dominicana.

Melendi does not see much competition from the looming reopening of Cuba.

I think it will be opened in the near future," he said. "But the Cubans will have trouble supplying cigars in any great numbers because of the way their facilities have gone downhill over the years. I think the prices will be high and the quality will not be as consistent as it was before.

"The Cubans will begin to mass produce cigars in order to meet the instant demand for them and that will kill it," he continued. "I think the demand will die down soon after."

Melendi sees the trend in cigar smoking increasing for a number of years before it levels off.

"There are so many good cigars on the market today," he said. "That the demand in almost any price range can be met with quality. People's tastes have become more sophisticated and that will help keep the trend alive. The fact that people have more disposable income is another major factor."