Cigars spark camaraderie at Viso Cigars in McKinney, Texas

[JohnS]

The majority of cigars sold at Viso Cigars are sourced from Nicaragua and the Dominican Republic. (Karen Chaney/Community Impact)

Cigars spark camaraderie at Viso Cigars in McKinney

By Karen Chaney - 3:15 PM Apr 8, 2026 CDT 

Business owner Austin Meyer said first-time customers visit Viso Cigars in McKinney to buy cigars but what keeps them coming back goes beyond a transaction.

“When you sit down [in our lounge] with a cigar for an hour and a half, that's when you really get to dig into your life,” Meyer said. “We're sitting down with you for an extended period of time where the main focus is conversation—something that I don't think is commonplace anymore.”

Meyer opened Viso Cigars in 2022 with his parents and McKinney residents Chris and Jenn Meyer.

The set up

Meyer said the shop offers a boutique cigar selection in that the majority of the cigar brands sold at Viso Cigars have only been around since 2010.

“I learned to support those smaller brands and build a community of people that share the love of the leaf and boutique cigars,” Meyer said.

Their top-selling cigars are from Nicaragua and the Dominican Republic. Top brands include Dunbarton Tobacco & Trust, Foundation Cigar Company and Karen Berger Cigars, which is one of a few women-owned cigar companies, Meyer said

In April 2025, Viso Cigars officials launched their own cigar—Viso Original Blend—which is a blend Austin and Chris Meyer curated. The blend features a Mexican San Andreas Maduro wrapper aged for three years and fillers from the Dominican Republic, Honduras and Nicaragua, all aged at least five years. The cigars are manufactured at Tabacos de Costa Rica.

“500 [Viso O.B.] cigars sold out in four days,” Meyer said. “We received another shipment four months later and it became our No. 1 selling cigar in our humidor.”

Jenn Meyer compares cigars to wine in that different flavors, including chocolate and nuts, are derived from the wrapper and tobacco. She added that top-notch cigars are often described as being smooth, rich, clean and constructed well.

What else?

Throughout the week a variety of events are scheduled including poker, bingo and more. Meyer hosts a weekly Humidor Discovery Night where he fields cigar-centric questions.

He said people who have never smoked a cigar often ask “Do we inhale?” The answer is no, he said.

“Then Mrs. Jones might ask, 'What's the point?”' To which I might answer: ‘The point is to sit back and relax for an hour,’” Meyer said.

Cigar aficionados often ask what is new, to which he will take them to the humidor and show them the latest and greatest arrival.

Viso Cigars also has a membership program that allows members to store cigars in onsite lockers as well as attend members-only events.

The backstory

Meyer said growing up he had a front row seat to watch and learn from his parents who own small businesses including Walls of Clay in downtown McKinney. While in college, he met friends who were cigar enthusiasts and the camaraderie he discovered in the cigar community caught hold. Following college, he worked at a local cigar lounge where his industry interest was ignited.

“I've jumped around a lot in my life for different hobbies, and I think [my parents] were waiting for me to find something I was really passionate about,” he said. “It turned out that it was cigars.”

Chris and Jenn Meyer asked their son if he would like to start his own cigar lounge and he said he would like to do so with a bit of help from them.

“I feel like this is my legacy of turning him into the next generation of entrepreneurship and letting him be his own boss,” Jenn Meyer said. “As the business grows, I take less of a role, he takes more of a role, and that's just a proud moment.”

• 1521 N. Custer Road, Ste. 2850, McKinney
• www.visocigars.com

Source: https://communityimpact.com/dallas-fort-worth/mckinney/business/2026/04/08/cigars-spark-camaraderie-at-viso-cigars-in-mckinney/