New Partagas Shop and VERY tentative Festival Dates

[Corylax18]

The New Partagas shop was at the top of my list for stops. It wasn't ready when I was there in March. The size and shape of the new lounge are similar to the old one, but the new shop is very bright, flooded in natural light. The bar is also larger and has more seats.  

The highlight for me though, is the new VIP lounge. It took another 3 months after they opened the shop to get it completed and they moved over all the original wood walls and flooring from the old VIP lounge. It's a very comfortable space but its much smaller than the lounge in the old shop. I enjoyed an absolutely amazing Pyramides rolled by La Chine and relaxed for a few hours with the old Crew. (Grecia is no longer the manager, but everyone else is still there)

Despite having a bright, beautiful, new store, with a brand new Cigar Cava they had pretty much nothing for sale. The shelves behind the counter were loaded with Vuegeros, JLP, Troya, Belinda, minis, shorts, etc. The "pink sheets" as @Punch Joe put it. Haha. The prices either didn't shift on these or the government has already adjusted them in the computer system in an attempt to dump built up inventory. Meanwhile, 25 counts of Siglo VI where sitting in the Humidor, with the new sticker price. But they couldn't be sold because the barcode still rang up at the old price. This was a problem at Every Single LCDH I visited. Whether they had cigars or not, there was essentially nothing for sale. 

Now, the festival dates. Apparently the Government has been making it nearly impossible to get events set up. They are aiming for the week of November 14th-18th. But, literally nothing is confirmed or setup in anyway as I type this. The government hasn't responded at all to the majority of the permit requests the team has placed for the usage of hotels, buses, restaurants, etc.  The responses they have received have just been more questions. It may be a much less formal affair than in years past, but they're determined to make something happen this year. 

A few photos of the new lounge and Humidor:

[El Presidente]

I look forward to smoking a cigar with you there Cory!  Thank you for the update. 

Did you manage to catch up with Punch Joe?  

[Corylax18]

24 minutes ago, El Presidente said:

I look forward to smoking a cigar with you there Cory!  Thank you for the update. 

Did you manage to catch up with Punch Joe?  

That sounds Great!

I did! He was actually at the shop when I was taking these pictures. We had a coffee and a cigar here, then a nice long lunch at Amigos Del Mar. Its always great to see him and catchup. He's starting to get everything fully back up and running on his end again, but its a complicated and ever changing situation.

[El Presidente]

2 minutes ago, Corylax18 said:

. Its always great to see him and catchup. He's starting to get everything fully back up and running on his end again, but its a complicated and ever changing situation.

That is great to hear! One of life's true gentlemen.

[LLC]

I enjoyed a lot of time in the old store and VIP lounge. I look forward to when things improve and I go back to see the new location. 

[NSXCIGAR]

The cava was still being worked on when I was there in June but the shop downstairs was finished. Very bright and clean and I was glad to see the old spiral staircase had been moved over. 

 

[NSXCIGAR]

9 hours ago, Corylax18 said:

But they couldn't be sold

No rush--at $2,072 there won't be many brought to the register.