The Findy Cigar Story - From Humble Beginnings to Paramount Success

Now located in South Tampa, Findy Cigar Company provides premium cigars and hookah to a devoted clientele who demand nothing but the best.

Findy Cigar Company & Hookah Lounge provides the ultimate luxury experience for those Tampa who will not settle for a mediocre cigar. You can find us at 5223 S MacDill Ave, Tampa, FL 33611. Premium Findy cigars and hookah can be found in the expansive lounge, surrounded by top-of-the-line flat screen TVs, a fully stocked humidor with Findy brand cigars, a front and back patio, and a brand new outdoor kitchen. Stop in for a cigar, hookah, or even just for a meal. You won’t want to leave. 

Born in a small town in the Dominican Republic, Hernandez explodes onto the New York City fashion, design, and nightlife scene.

With this change comes a new name to represent a new identity: Findy. 

From humble beginnings, the story of Findy Cigar Company & Hookah Lounge begins in a small town in the Dominican Republic called Salceldo, on Feb 2nd, 1980. Hernandez was born to a large family of humble farmers who earned a meager wage farming cacau, coffee, and most importantly - tobacco. At 16, Hernandez decided that the small town farming lifestyle, while honest, was not enough. Dreams of excitement and worlds of possibility brought him to Brooklyn, New York in 1996. With an eye for design and fashion, Hernandez was quick to make his rounds through the high-end modeling industry, working with runways and magazines throughout all of NYC. During this time, Hernandez decided that he needed a new name, a brand name, to break out of his small-time roots and fully explode onto the NYC fashion scene. He adopted the name Findy.

As Findy found his footing in Brooklyn working through various odd jobs, he worked as a promoter for some of the top venues in the city. He found that many of those people he already knew as leaders of the fashion industry were also dominating the nightlife scene - a perfect fit for Findy. This allowed him to work with the movers and shakers of NYC while also saving up money for future endeavors. 

Tampa ignites a passion for a young entrepreneur engrossed in cigar excellence. 

In 2000, Findy visited Tampa’s Ybor City for the first time while on vacation and fell in love with the location. The tobacco… the hand-rolled cigars… it reminded him of his childhood, playing among the tobacco fields. This was the end-product; the culmination of years of experience in various industries teaching him about the glamor of high-fashion and prestige while hearkening home to his family's humble roots as farmers in the Dominican Republic.

Ybor City offered a destination that would welcome him and teach him all that he needed to know about the cigar industry. Every two weeks Findy was back and soon the love affair of Cigar City would become more serious and permanent. The 24 year old entrepreneur made Tampa home. During this time, Findy amassed quite a few close compadres. Some owned shops, some rolled or sold tobacco, and some were just smokers. The love of cigars brought them together.

United by industry interest, Findy meets Logic, a fellow cigar aficionado and future business partner. 

Through these experiences of working closely with Ybor City's elite cigar manufacturers, Findy met another young entrepreneur who ran in the same circles as Findy. His name was Logic Gonzalez, a local hip-hop artist and producer, cigar aficionado, and eventually Findy’s business partner and right-hand man. The older smokers loved that two young guys showed a genuine interest in the industry and sought to teach the two everything that they knew. Throughout thick and thin, Findy and Logic supported each other like brothers through different business endeavors.  

New Findy cigars break into the luxury scene - confirming that Findy was moving in the right direction. 

During this time, Findy and Logic built up their repertoire with neighbors locals in the Cigar City district, experimenting with their own blends of tobacco, spurred by positive feedback from the aging business titans of Ybor. From here, Findy built his brand and started with a humble store on Armenia St., selling cigars from the store and to local businesses. He expanded the business to hookah as well, increasing the popularity of the brand and broadening the overall appeal. The brand continued to grow throughout the cigar aficionado scene in Tampa and eventually made its way into a famous, luxury steakhouse chain, where customers and staff alike were ordering boxes of the Findy signature blend. This gave Findy the courage that he was moving in the right direction. 

Moving to S MacDill in Tampa allowed Findy to provide an unrivaled experience for his customers. 

Eventually, the brand began to outgrow the Armenia location. While the acclaimed history of Ybor City was ideal for a starting entrepreneur, FIndy had now become a recognized brand in Tampa and was searching for a new location that could provide the exact experience that he hoped to give his customers. In 2020, Findy moved to S MacDill, to the location that the company is currently in, which he remodeled to fit his exact dreams. Claudia, Findy’s longtime girlfriend, has helped make this dream a reality by being a rock during this trying time, creating the unique drink menu, and overall supporting her partner along the way. Opening a new location during an unprecedented pandemic was a risk - but a risk worth taking. Claudia cemented herself as a cornerstone in the new establishment and ensured that a luxury experience was had by all that stopped in. Without the support from Claudia and the team, Findy Cigars would not be possible. 

Recently, Findy’s brother and renowned chef, Willy, has relocated to the Tampa area and has taken on full kitchen duties at Findy Cigar Company & Hookah Lounge. The new location is open and ready for business! As Findy himself puts the finishing touches on the interior, the new location boasts a full bar, luxurious seating, a front and back patio, delicious meals, and most importantly - Findy Cigars. All of this can be found at 5223 S MacDill Ave, Tampa, FL 33611.