The Cigar Lounge On Wheels
We’ve seen a lot of cool smoking spots over the years. Ultra-classy lounges, swanky cigar bars of yesteryear, humble, personal smoking abodes, you name it. But we have rarely come across a cigar lounge that’s literally on wheels—at least not on this level. That was until The Mobile Cigar Lounge came rolling into our purview. The aptly-named company offers a new twist on the cigar smoking experience. It’s a veteran-owned operation that fully restored and redesigned a 1973 Airstream trailer to function as a classy cigar bar on the inside, traveling to weddings and private events across the United States.
The company was started in 2018 by three U.S. military veterans, and their staff of more than 55 employees are made up entirely of veterans, first responders and those connected (i.e., family of military or first responders). The group also runs a nonprofit called The Patriots Of The Leaf, which provides to America's military and first responders, their families, and local charitable organizations.
The founding trio consists of Joey Mac Dizon (who goes by the nickname “Chief Smoking Officer”), Alvaro Patrick (“COO-Xecutor of Operations”) and Miley Massed. Dizon and Patrick were in the same unit together in the Marine Corps. “We went to Mongolia, Norway and Iraq together, ’08 and ’09,” says Dizon. Massed, who was in the U.S. Army around the same time, was deployed to Afghanistan. He and Dizon went to the military college Norwich University and played rugby together before continuing on in their respective branches. Dizon credits Massed for helping to grow his love for cigars and cigar culture when they were back in New Jersey post-military, often frequenting local cigar lounges.
The lightbulb moment for creating the company didn’t come after hours of puffing away at a lounge. Instead, it actually happened at a food truck festival years ago attended by Dizon and Massed, who were amazed to learn that many of the businesses just had their truck, and no costly brick and mortar to go with it. “Me and Miley, we just love to eat and we thought well why don’t we just do this with cigars?” says Dizon with a laugh. “So that’s kind of how we started.”
The group leveraged their connections with fellow cigar smokers and started getting their name out there. “A lot of people in the industry were helping me out to try and grow the business,” says Dizon. “We really appreciate it, they kind of built the road for us.” Dizon is more disarming and immediately friendly than perhaps most Marines you’ve met before, so it’s no surprise he had a line of people waiting to lend him a hand and that he’s more-or-less become the public face of the company. “This is not my side gig,” he says. “I do this full-time and I’m committed to this.”
The Mobile Cigar Lounge is in its eighth year and is hitting impressive volume. Dizon estimates they do more than 1,100 events a year. “We bring the cigar experience to weddings, private parties and corporate events,” he says. “You don’t need a lounge, you can bring it to them.” They’ve done events in 30 states so far, from California to Maine. Their quick growth has been facilitated by a partnership they developed with one of America’s great cigar companies, PENSA factory in Nicaragua, which supplies the group with all of their cigar inventory for private labels at each event, as well as tobacco for their cigar-rolling showcases. Dizon met Bobby Newman at an event years ago and mingling soon turned into a business proposal. Shortly after, the partnership was born. “It was all made under a handshake,” says Dizon. “They just us and treat us like family.” Dizon says the Newmans don’t hold any ownership, but that they appreciate the mission of the company and benefit from brand exposure to new smokers, who make up the majority of people at their events.
The airstream trailer turned cigar lounge is, of course, the company’s main attraction. The outside still has a retro vibe in concurrence with its ’70s roots, with its unique, bullet-like shape and polished aluminum finish. The inside, however, has vintage class more reflective of the Gilded Age. Leather couches and chairs, a Turkish-style rug and a bar come together under what resembles copper-tiled walls. It’s also equipped with AC and heat, depending on what's needed for the local climate. The space is best suited for somewhere between 12 to 14 guests at a time.
The revamped trailer is just part of the company’s offering. They have just one in their fleet, and it’s used for bookings about three to four times a month. Most of the event volume comes by way of a table set-up. At these events, a roller is on hand constructing smokes on the spot, custom-labeled cigars are at the ready for guests and the team facilitates a proper cigar experience for attendees. “We exhibit the art of cigar rolling, but then we bring the aged J.C. Newman cigars so they’re ready to go,” says Dizon. “We always say that we want to take care of you from the first call to the last puff.” He advises that the cigar portion of any event be scheduled at the end of the celebration it’s being paired with (typically the last two hours), when the formalities have ceased and prime cigar-smoking time has arrived. They also supply Arturo Fuente coffee and Dizon will bring whisky from his private stock to supplement the pairing experience.
Every event gets customized cigars that the company will create and band beforehand. Parties can choose from three blends, all supplied by J.C. Newman: Connecticut Shade, Maduro and Private Reserve, which is aged longer than the other two blends. For the smallest events, the Lounge will have 20 cigars on hand, but some have commanded an inventory of more than 600 smokes. “The product comes in and it goes out because we’re doing about 2,000 cigars a week,” says Dizon. “When it gets to September, it’s like 5,000 cigars a week.”
Dizon says most of the company’s business comes from referrals. The field staff of more than 50 employees is essentially deployed all over the country to carry out the company’s services. Dizon says they may soon add another trailer to the fleet, but for now they’ve had no problem filling its demand. Although, that could change. On a Sunday in early April, Dizon and the company were on display for millions during a national airing of “Fox & Friends” in New York City. “I don’t think that was just a win for us, I think it was a win for the entire industry,” Dizon says, noting the positive light the segment gave to cigars. “Our goal is to keep expanding, to keep delivering these experiences to people.”
