TAMPA, FL — Tampa Bay LEGO fans now have a chance to build a historic Tampa landmark with the popular building blocks.
This week, J.C. Newman Cigar Co. in Ybor City is introducing the El Reloj LEGO Set at the Premium Cigar Association Trade Show in Las Vegas.
Each set includes 201 authentic LEGO bricks to build the west façade and famous clocktower of J.C. Newman’s iconic El Reloj cigar factory.
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The backside reveals the factory’s 113-year-old clock movement on the first floor and bales of tobacco in the basement.
“When I was a little kid, I spent lots of time in our historic El Reloj cigar factory in Tampa, including countless hours on the floor of my dad’s office playing with LEGOs,” said fourth-generation owner Drew Newman. “I loved LEGOs and I love our iconic building. I am very excited to bring both of these loves together with our new El Reloj LEGO set.”
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The suggested retail price of the El Reloj LEGO set is $100. Sets will be available in the J.C. Newman Factory Store beginning next week and on J.C. Newman’s website at the end of July.
“I am very grateful to Sherry and Alex Kalita of our design partner Common Bond Design for creating this wonderful way to honor our beloved and world-famous cigar factory,” said Newman.
Take A Tour
J.C. Newman Cigar Co. is America’s oldest family-owned premium cigar maker and operates Tampa’s last cigar factory at 2701 N. 16th St., Tampa.
To help maintain the historic 113-year-old El Reloj Cigar Factory, the Newman family has been repairing flooring in the main lobby for the past two months, causing a temporary closure of the cigar factory’s museum.
However, work is expected to be completed on July 10 and the lobby and museum will be reopened to the public.
The three-level cigar museum gives visitors the opportunity to watch cigars being hand-rolled in the rolling room using the same traditional method used a century ago on antique, hand-operated machines. Visitors can also peruse various cigar-related exhibits or watch old cigar films in the museum’s interactive theater.
Cigar aficionados can even take a hand-rolling class with master cigar rollers.
El Reloj is open to the public on weekdays from 9 a.m. to 5:30 p.m., although visitors are strongly encouraged to arrive before 3 p.m. when cigar rolling stops.
Visiting J.C. Newman’s cigar museum, theater, rolling room and factory store is free.
Guided factory tours lasting about an hour and 15 minutes are available for $15 per adult and $12 for seniors, students and veterans. They take place Monday through Friday at 9:30 a.m., 11:30 a.m. and 1 p.m. Click here to book a tour.
Tampa’s Last Cigar Factory
In 1895, there were 40,000 federally licensed cigar manufacturers in the United States and Tampa, nicknamed cigar city, was one of the largest cigar producers with 150 cigar factories operating.
Today, the red brick cigar factory, El Reloj, is the last one operating. When the factory was built in 1910, El Reloj was considered to be the largest and finest cigar factory in the world.
The company was founded in 1895 by Hungarian immigrant Julius Caesar Newman, who grew up rolling cigars in his family’s barn in Cleveland, Ohio, before becoming a cigar maker apprentice in Cleveland, then a journeyman cigar maker before starting his own company in Cleveland with a $50 investment in tobacco.
Eventually, he opened two more factories in Ohio, employing 700 cigar workers, before moving his cigar-making operation to Tampa in 1954 to be closer to the primary source of tobacco: Cuba.
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J.C. sent his son, Stanford, to Tampa to scout out a location for a factory, and Stanford Newman set his sights on a 1910 red brick landmark cigar factory founded by legendary Cuban revolutionary Vincent Ybor.
The building, officially named the Regensburg factory, was one of the largest cigar factories ever built in Tampa.
Like every cigar factory in town, the Regensburg had a nickname — El Reloj, Spanish for “The Clock.” For generations, residents had risen and retired to the hourly chimes ringing from the factory’s brick clock tower, which was restored by the Newman family in 2002.
In 1958, Stanford Newman purchased the internationally renowned Cuesta-Rey brand from Tampa cigar makers Karl and Anch Cuesta and introduced the legendary 35-cent Cuesta-Rey #95 cigar.
Then, in 1985, another Tampa cigar maker, Carlos Fuente Sr., invited the Newmans to take over his Tampa factory cigar brands.
The first brand under the new partnership, La Unica Dominican Primeros, became the No. 1-selling premium bundle cigar in America within six months of its launch.
In 1990, J.C. Newman Cigar Co. became the distributor of Carlos’ Arturo Fuente and Montesino cigar brands.
Today, J.C. Newman Cigar Co. is run by J.C. Newman’s grandsons, Eric Newman, who is president, and Bobby Newman, executive vice president. In 2017, Eric Newman’s son, Drew, became the fourth generation of the Newman family to join the business full time as the company’s general counsel.
Diamond Crown is the company’s bestselling brand of humidors and cigar accessories, and Cuesta-Rey is one of the most popular premium cigars in the world, enjoyed by cigar smokers in 61 countries on six continents.
The family has also relaunched J.C. Newman’s Brick House cigar, a true Cuban puro cigar made with the finest Havana tobaccos. Wrapped in a hearty Havana Subido leaf, the cigar features a rich blend of Nicaraguan tobaccos aged in the mountains of Nicaragua and carefully hand-rolled by master artisans.
The Brick House has since been named one of the top 25 cigars in the world by Cigar Aficionado.
Another Nicaraguan Newman cigar, Quorum, is the world’s most popular handmade cigar sold in bundles.
In all, J.C. Newman manufactures six Dominican brands, nine Nicaraguan brands and nine American brands of cigars.
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