NEW YORK--They came from the East Side, West Side and all around the town when cigar and cigarette maker Nat Sherman officially opened its new retail store in mid-December.
Joel Sherman, son of the late Nat, along with his wife and children, welcomed more than 150 guests, including industry leaders, clients, friends and family to a grand opening reception on Dec. 12 to the new space, an elegant, classic, free-standing building at 12 East 42nd St. at Fifth Avenue.
The previous Sherman emporium has a Broadway speakeast/Runyonesque [image-nocss] flavor, according to the company. In contrast, the new 6,000-square-foot store aims for a confident stylishness and sophistication.
The copper and stone fa aade features arched windows and a slanted roof. Architect Jack A. Michaelson and interior designer Charles McCarry modeled the store on Henry Higgin's library in My Fair Lady.
The interior, which is rich with wood, leather and five-star service, boasts a 30-foot ceiling over the ground floor, with a circular balcony filled with shelves of cigar boxes stacked like books.
As the nation dug its way out of the great depression in 1930, Nat Sherman was busy opening New York's finest tobacco shop. Today, the company has grown from those humble beginnings into one of the most recognized and respected names in the tobacco industry.
Its all-natural brands of luxury cigarettes can be found in all 50 states and over 40 countries around the world.
Never forgetting its heritage, the retail showroom on Fifth Ave and 42nd Street in New York aims to be a destination location for world travelers both smoker and non-smoker alike. The "store" and its conference room are also a meeting place for the world's tobacco industry.
Recently, under direction of a third generation of Shermans, a new state of the art cigarette manufacturing plant was built on a 7-1/2-acre sight in Greensboro, N.C., replacing the facility that produced right in the heart of Manhattan. At the same time, the executive offices were expanded and moved to Fort Lee, N.J., adjacent to the George Washington Bridge and within sight of the city.
Members help make our journalism possible. Become a CSP member today and unlock exclusive benefits, including unlimited access to all of our content. Sign up here.