A wise man once said, “Smoking cigars is like falling in love. First, you are attracted by its shape; you stay for its flavor, and you must always remember never, never to let the flame go out!”
One look around Charlotte’s entertainment scene for those seasoned over 30, and you’d be hard-pressed to miss the burgeoning cigar lifestyle taking root. From Mt. Holly to Mooresville and everywhere in between, more and more residents of the Greater Charlotte Metro area are turning cigar aficionados and making way for a once considered “luxury” activity to enter the Queen City mainstream.
Christopher Moore, owner and CEO of Carolina Blue Cigars, has followed a lifelong journey back to the tobacco fields in an effort to capitalize on this rush of new energy. In doing so, he is carving out a sterling reputation for delivering top quality “sticks” at a wallet-friendly price.
Prior to the launch of Carolina Blue, Chris tried to follow the traditional route—graduate high school, go to college, get a degree, get a job. But that was never in his cards.
“I did two years at Fayetteville State and I was like ‘F— This!’” Chris told The Block. “I just wasn’t a college guy.”
Between mounting financial pressure with his mom back home in New York and coming to the realization that self-discipline wasn’t high on his priority list, Chris decided to follow in the footsteps of his dad, uncle and G.I. Joe (no, for real … G.I. Joe with the kung-fu grip!) to promptly leave Bronco Land and enlist in the Army.
“[My mom] didn’t even know I joined [laughs] I just called and said ‘Hey, I’m at bootcamp. I think I’m gonna give it a shot’,” Chris said.
With two cigars in tow—one for completing Basic Training, the other for completing the Technical phase—Chris traversed a shot that led to a decorated 30-year career in uniform. But as time started to wind down in that phase of life, he was ultimately brought to a crossroads.
*cues Bone Thugs-N-Harmony*
“The people that are in the cigar industry for longevity purposes don’t look like me. The ones behind the scenes—the ones rolling them—look like me. the ones working the fields look like me.”
Chris moore
“I knew I was about to retire in about five years, so I figured I’d just teach golf. That’s how deep I was in it,” Chris recalled.
Once that trip down memory lane settled in, he hilariously thought about the fact that the seed for Carolina Blue Cigars was actually planted while on a golf course.
“When I went back to the [Dominican Republic] for a golf tournament, one of my relatives asked me ‘Hey man, you ever wanna get back into cigars?’ And I said ‘Man, I ain’t trying to f— with no damn tobacco! I said it just like that [laughs].”
But, after a few years of pondering his post-Army life, Chris drew from the summers of his youth working the tobacco fields with his grandmother in North Carolina and ultimately accepted his life’s calling.
“About a year before I retired, I started marketing the cigars before I started selling them because, if I’m going to do something, it’s going to be good. I’m not going to be ‘Jimmy Out The Trunk,’” Chris said.
After positive feedback following eight months of giving cigars away in 2016, multiple shop owners encouraged him to develop a brand and begin selling them.
“So I named the product Carolina Blue—not because of the Carolinas in a sense or Tobacco Road or anything like that. But more from working in the tobacco fields. When you’re working in the fields, smoking a cigar it’s under that Carolina Blue sky. You see it from anywhere in the world,” Chris said with a calming fervor.
Soon after launching, organizers from Thomas Davis’ golf tournament reached out with a sponsorship opportunity that he flipped into a vending situation by offering to setup free of charge. Call it fate, call it destiny but it’s definitely not a coincidence that this combination of golf and cigars Chris once rejected also served as the launchpad for his blossoming company.
The Thomas Davis link up led to a Muggsy Bogues link up which ultimately led to Carolina Blue quickly outgrowing its humble beginning.
“We got too big for our own self and had to find a new factory that we’re at now. Originally we wanted to just creep along and build our name up; we wanted to be like other businesses. Cigars is a big business. We didn’t expect to strike it [snaps] big.”
Local support on social media also went a long way in generating interest. But according to Chris, the cigar scene in Charlotte is still simmering. From Atlanta to D.C., those scenes dwarf the Queen City, and there’s still lots of opportunity for growth.
“I’ve seen Preston from Tailored Smoke get bigger, I’ve seen Smoke-n-Barrel in Mt. Holly come up, Gold Leaf in Mooresville, the Cigar Loft in Concord just popped up, Tinder Box has been here for a while. You’ve got CDM, Burner’s and Aroma that’s just changed ownership,” Chris explained.
So while the number of cigar lounges in the Charlotte Metro area have grown significantly in the past five years, the overall consumer demand has yet to match the sprouting up of brick-and-mortar establishments. To counter this, Chris has leveraged his relationships formed during that one-year marketing period to carve out a nice niche amongst cigar shops across the country.
“People are always asking for ‘local’ like ‘what do you have local?’ And I’m right there like ‘Here, try this Carolina Blue’ like BAM! … That’s how I got this account out in Montana. You know? When you go to another city, like New Orleans or something you don’t want to eat Chic-Fil-A. We got that stuff back home, let’s get something around the corner or down the alley,” Chris exclaimed with more Guy Fieri feels than a little bit.
Blazing New Trails
Cigars are often likened to the food industry though. While there are staples at every price point, fads come and go, so staying on trend and ahead of customer tastes are paramount to success. But Chris contends that it’s more about relationships and knowing the right people. That’s exactly how he has managed to find success as a small, full service, Black-owned cigar manufacturer in six years without the resources of the major players.
“As far as day-to-day business, there’s really only one [other minority owned cigar brand]. Blue Mountain Cigars out in Nicaragua, has been doing it for about 15 years but that’s it. There have been a few others before me though.”
Trailblazing in 2021 is still not without its challenges. Chris is determined to not get too far ahead of himself and tackle each day. Taking advantage of partnership opportunities as they present themselves and remaining humble throughout the process are the main ingredients to this hustle.
That approach has proved to be fruitful thus far and has made way for one of the more unique events to come to Charlotte this year, giving local manufacturers like Carolina Blue the proper exposure needed here in their own backyard.
Curated for the Culture
The Queen City Cigar Fest is a series of social and educational events to be held from May 19-23, hosted at multiple cigar lounges across Mecklenburg County. Founded in 2020 by Drida Hyde, Clinton Douglas and Damon Robinson, the purpose of the Queen City Cigar Fest is “to showcase the enormity and diversity of the local cigar market and catalyze a boost to our local economy with businesses in a niche market.”
“I think the Queen City Cigar Fest is an important opportunity for Charlotte because it gives us the opportunity to showcase our diverse cigar culture to the rest of the cigar community across the country,” said Preston Gray, owner of Tailored Smoke Cigar Lounges.
Co-Founder Drida Hyde expressed that, “The experience that attendees will have will be a memorable one as we have curated an experience highlighting the Charlotte cigar community filled with premium cigars, spirits, networking, cigar education, art, fashion and live music.”
The population boom here in the Queen City can expect to be met with innovative event offerings like Cigar Fest from here on out. Curators and enthusiasts like Drida, Clinton and Damon form bonds with forward thinkers and businessmen like Chris, and subsequently help shape a refined sector of small business, while simultaneously elevating an obscure subculture in ‘The Four.’
If you’ve been itching to find the proper spot to light up and enjoy a good time with other fellow cigar lovers, you’ll want to get tapped in with both Carolina Blue Cigars and The Queen City Cigar Fest. Plus, with the weather warming up and restrictions lifting, conditions are shaping up for a glorious summer full of flavor and love. Just remember, don’t let that flame go out!
Interested in Carolina Blue Cigars? Learn more and purchase online or follow on Instagram. For information on tickets, sponsors, vendors and accommodations for Queen City Cigar Fest, visit the event website and follow on Instagram and Facebook.
(Feature photo of Queen City Cigar Fest Founders (l-r) Damon Robinson, Drida Hyde & Clinton Douglas. Photo courtesy of @aritheshooter.)
