Founder’s Day 2023

Founder’s Day 2023

Date: May 6, 2023
Time: 11:00 am - 3:00 pm
Location: J.C. Newman Cigar Co.

Join J.C. Newman Cigar Company for its third annual ‘Founder’s Day’ celebration at its historic cigar factory, El Reloj, in Tampa, FL.

On Saturday, May 6th from 11 a.m. – 3 p.m., J.C. Newman Cigar Company will celebrate the founding of the company (May 5) and the birthday of its founder (May 26) by opening up the doors to their factory on a Saturday. Visitors can take a tour of the production areas, purchase an item from the factory store or just celebrate outside by enjoying live music, food trucks, lawn games and more!  The event and museum is free and will be open to the public for exploring for the entirety of the day, but we do ask that if you purchase a cigar, you smoke it outside on one of our available tables – ashtrays will be provided! Be sure you are following us on Instagram to get 10% off your purchase in our museum and factory store. There is no charge for tours during Founder's Day and all are welcome to join and experience the beauty of El Reloj. We will also be selling Sanchez y Haya cigars, a recreation of Tampa's first cigar rolled in 1886, for a special throwback price of 5 cents each to the first 200 adult attendees (limit 2 per person). There will also be special appearances by Latin American Fiesta King and Queen!

Meet the Misfits - a few chickens from our nonprofit "Ybor Misfits" will be available to meet with and take photos!

Parking is free and available across the street on Columbus Ave.

If you have any questions about this event, you can reach us at our Contact Form! We can’t wait to host you as we celebrate the founders of America’s oldest, family-owned, premium cigar maker!

Founder’s Day 2022

Founder’s Day 2022

Date: May 7, 2022
Time: 10:00 am - 2:00 pm
Location: J.C. Newman Cigar Co.

THIS IS A FREE EVENT, BUT TICKETS FOR A PRIVATE TOUR ARE AVAILABLE FOR PURCHASE AT THIS LINK: /book-a-tour

J.C. Newman Cigar Company is excited to host our second annual ‘Founder’s Day’ celebration at our cigar factory, El Reloj, in Tampa, FL.

Join us on Saturday, May 7th from 10 am – 2 pm for tours, food trucks, lawn games, entertainment, and factory store deals. This is a family-friendly event and we’re excited to host you all.

While our normal hours are Monday – Friday, 9 a.m. – 5:30 p.m. to accommodate our cigarmaking staff, we wanted to give the public an opportunity to see our recently completed factory restoration project and experience the history of cigar city, while celebrating many of our own milestones.

May 5th is the day J.C. Newman Cigar Co. was founded, and May 26th is Julius Caeser “J.C.” Newman’s birthday, so we’re wrapping them both up into one large celebration with local vendors.

Food will be available from food trucks Calicatessen, Street Surfer, and Kona Ice, and alcoholic beverages will be available to purchase from Sipping Nomads. We'll have live entertainment by Shawn Kyle. If you want to book a tour, you can do so at this link: /visit-us/

Tours will be for up to 12 guests only, and six tours will be available throughout the day. The tours will fill up fast. To ensure your space, we encourage you to book online ahead of time.

We'll also have some chicken visitors from Ybor Misfits in attendance for a meet, greet, and photo opportunities!

The museum is free and will be open to the public for exploring for the entirety of the day, but we do ask that if you purchase a cigar, you smoke it outside on one of our available tables – ashtrays will be provided! Be sure you are following us on Instagram to get 10% off your purchase in our museum and factory store.

Parking is free and available across the street on Columbus Ave.

If you have any questions about this event, you can reach us at our Contact Form! We can’t wait to host you as we celebrate the founders of America’s oldest, family-owned, premium cigar maker!

El Reloj’s Birthday Celebration

El Reloj’s Birthday Celebration

Date: March 31, 2022
Time: 11:30 am - 1:00 pm
Location: J.C. Newman Cigar Co.

Experience living history at Tampa's last operating cigar factory.

Join J.C. Newman Cigar Company as we celebrate the birthday of our El Reloj cigar factory with a living history presentation. This unique luncheon will allow guests to experience the legacy of "El Lector," the iconic storytellers of Tampa's past.

The lector was an educational institution for the workingmen of Ybor City from 1886 to 1931. The lectors themselves, men such as José Dolores Poyo (a biographer and friend of the Cuban national hero José Martí) or Victoriano Manteiga (founder of the trilingual La Gaceta newspaper in Ybor City), read everything from Spanish Golden Age classic literature to local baseball scores for an illiterate constituency which labored all the while.

From the reconstructed lector stage in their handmade cigar factory, the Newman Family will host prestigious guest lectors to honor the cigar city tradition.

A cuban-style lunch will be provided for each guest to enjoy during the historic presentation.

Featured Lectors;

  • Richard Gonzmart

The fourth-generation “caretaker” of the Columbia Restaurant Group, Richard Gonzmart has been named – as part of more than 100 awards – Community Hero by the Tampa Bay Lightning, the Boys and Girls Clubs, and Big Brothers and Big Sisters. He also has been officially named a Luminary, a Visionary and a Philanthropist of the Year as well as Father of the Year, Hispanic Man of the Year, Businessman of the Year, Alumni of the Year at Jesuit and Academy of the Holy Names, Outstanding Citizen of the Year and Tampa Police Citizen of the Year. Richard’s great-grandfather started the world-famous Columbia Restaurant in Tampa’s historic Ybor City in 1905. Still 100 percent family-owned, it’s now the oldest restaurant in Florida.

  • Donna Parrino
Donna Piñero Parrino is a fourth-generation native of Ybor City and an advocate of Education. During her thirty-three-year career at USF, she led efforts to increase and include Latinos at all levels of the institution from students to university
decision-makers.
  • Noel Smith

Noel Marie Smith is a translator, visual arts curator, and arts administrator. A third-generation Tampa native, she is proud of her Asturian heritage. Among many other published literary and art historical texts, Smith is the translator of Tampa: Impressions of an Emigrant, by Wenceslao Gálvez, written in 1897 in Ybor City (University Press of Florida, 2020). She recently retired as Deputy Director of USF Graphicstudio and the Contemporary Art Museum, where she curated many exhibitions of Latin American and Caribbean contemporary art, with a specialty in Cuban art and culture.

  • Maura Barrios

Maura Barrios’ family followed the Cuban cigar-maker route from Havana to Key West to Tampa.  She grew up in West Tampa’s Cuban cigar-worker community.  Maura earned a Master's degree in Latin American History from USF where she was employed for 20 years.  She has presented research focused on Tampa-Cuba history at several events. She retired from USF History Department in 2014.

  • Anthony Carreño

Tony Carreño, a Tampa native with Spanish and Sicilian roots, has been engaged in preserving Tampa’s cultural heritage for more than four decades. In the past few years, as a member of the Board of Directors of Centro Español de Tampa, he has been instrumental in the production of two documentary films about Tampa’s Spanish immigrant community. Carreño has provided knowledgeable “guided tours” to Asturias for Tampa locals to further their knowledge and appreciation of this unique history. Carreño is a former trustee and current member of the Ybor City Museum Society.

  • Mario Núñez

Mario Núñez is a  proud fourth generation Tampeño.  His Great Grandparents followed the tobacco leaf's migratory route from Cuba to Key West to "Mr. Ybor's City."  Many of them worked right here at "El Reloj" in the early part of the 20th century. After an exciting 30 year career as an American Airlines international flight attendant, Mario launched a second career as a producer of media content.  While traveling extensively throughout the western hemisphere and western Europe, the experience left him with the desire to research his hometown history.

Pirates, Rum, and Perla Del Mar

Pirates, Rum, and Perla Del Mar

Date: January 26, 2022
Time: 5:30 pm - 7:30 pm
Location: Hotel Haya

Pirates, Rum, and Perla Del Mar - Wednesday, January 26th

Join us at Hotel Haya with J.C. Newman and Bacardi for a splendid evening informed by rum aficionados pairing award-winning rum with Perla Del Mar Cigars.

Enjoy a welcome Air Mail cocktail, light hors d'oeuvres, a complimentary cigar, live music, and a rolling demonstration by J.C Newman in our courtyard.

Rums: Santa Teresa 1796, Bacardi Cuatro, Bacardi Ocho, Bacardi Ocho Sherry Cask, Bacardi Diez and Havana Club Anejo Classico

Cigars: Perla del Mar Shade, Perla del Mar Maduro, Perla del Mar Corojo, and introducing J.C. Newman's limited edition, JOSÉ GASPAR CIGAR

Ticket price of $30 includes cocktail, cigar, light hors d'oeuvres, programming by J.C. Newman and Bacardi Rum Ambassadors.

Haunted Factory Tour

Haunted Factory Tour

Date: January 13, 2022
Time: 12:00 am - 12:00 am
Location: J.C. Newman Cigar Co.

Join us for a Haunted Factory Tour - Thursday, January 13th

Located in Cigar City, Tampa, Florida, our 111-year-old factory has stood tall through many generations and societal challenges.
Tens of thousands of people, cigar enthusiasts and the like have passed through our doors...and some...may have never left.
On Thursday, January 13, for one night only, join us and the Ybor City Historic Walking Tours for an evening inside J.C. Newman Cigar Company factory, El Reloj. This hour and a half evening tour will explore the darker side of El Reloj that our daytime tours do not touch on. You'll learn all about the history of cigar factories, and many of the ghosts that still haunt our halls.
What: Haunted Factory Tour
When: Thursday, January 13, 7:00 p.m.
Where: J.C. Newman Cigar Co. Factory, El Reloj, 2701 N. 16th St. Tampa, FL 33605
Price: $20 pp
Haunted Factory Tour

Haunted Factory Tour

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Time: 12:00 am - 12:00 am
Location: J.C. Newman Cigar Co.

Join us for a Haunted Factory Tour - Wednesday, October 27, 2021

Located in Cigar City, Tampa, Florida, our 111-year-old factory has stood tall through many generations and societal challenges.
Tens of thousands of people, cigar enthusiasts and the like have passed through our doors...and some...may have never left.
On Wednesday, October 27, for one night only, join us and the Ybor City Historic Walking Tours for an evening inside J.C. Newman Cigar Company factory, El Reloj. This hour and a half evening tour will explore the darker side of El Reloj that our daytime tours do not touch on. You'll learn all about the history of cigar factories, and many of the ghosts that still haunt our halls.
This special tour is being held one night only and a limited quantity of 40 tickets are available.
What: Haunted Factory Tour
When: Wednesday, October 27, 7:00 p.m.
Where: J.C. Newman Cigar Co. Factory, El Reloj, 2701 N. 16th St. Tampa, FL 33605
Price: $20 pp
Founder’s Day 2022

The Wishing Hour

Date: September 15, 2021
Time: 12:00 am - 12:00 am
Location: J.C. Newman Cigar Co.

Join us for the Wishing Hour - 9:15 on 9/15

Legend has it that the locals used to refer to J.C. Newman’s iconic clock as the “wishing clock”. When anyone had a problem – personal, financial, health, etc. – they would gather in the street in front of El Reloj at 9:15 in the morning stretching out their arms replicating the nine and the three on the long hand of the clock. This was the wishing moment where they wished their problems away – but at 9:16 it was gone

Join us on Wednesday, 9/15 at 9:15 am for the ultimate wishing hour of 2021! Make a wish then enjoy a free cup of coffee from Foundation Coffee*, explore our company museum, or take a behind-the-scenes tour offered at a discounted price.

*Free coffee available from Foundation Coffee from 9 a.m. – 10:00 a.m. while supplies last.

KMA Radio Live Taping

KMA Radio Live Taping

Date: August 28, 2021
Time: 12:00 am - 12:00 am
Location: J.C. Newman Cigar Co.

KMA RADIO 10TH ANNIVERSARY LIVE

Join us on Saturday, August 28th, 2021 for the 10th Anniversary Show of KMA Radio, broadcast live from J.C. Newman Cigar Co. factory, El Reloj, in Cigar City, Tampa, FL.

Beginning at 9 am breakfast and breakfast cocktails will be available in our hand rolling room for attendees to enjoy before (and while) the show begins at 10 am. Eric Newman will join host Abe Dabaneh on our third floor for a two-hour discussion on all things J.C. Newman. Guests will have a live, in-person view of this incredible anniversary show at a variety of eight-top banquet tables.

At the conclusion of the show at noon, guests will join us in our hospitality room for a light lunch, beer and wine, the cutting of the KMA 10th Anniversary cake, and exclusive behind-the-scenes tours of our 111-year-old-cigar factory.

Tie The Knot Ybor

Tie The Knot Ybor

Date: August 22, 2021
Time: 12:00 am - 12:00 am
Location: J.C. Newman Cigar Co.

Take a trolly ride around historic Ybor city, and see 6 beautiful wedding venues with their roots in building Tampa Bay. Taste food from the area’s best caterers, meet with wedding planners and entertainment professionals, all on one Sunday afternoon in August.

On Sunday, August 22nd, beginning at 11 a.m., you can jump on a trolly to see 6, unique wedding venues in the Ybor City area: Centro Asturiano, the Cuban Club, Hotel Haya, the Italian Club, J.C. Newman Cigar Co., and Ybor City Museum.

You’ll be able to spend time at each venue, sampling food, and hearing from industry professionals about planning your big day. This is the most efficient, and fun way to plan your wedding.

You’ll select your starting venue, and every 20 minutes, a trolly will arrive out front to bring you to the next location.

Parking is complimentary at J.C. Newman and Centro Asturiano. At all other locations, parking is complimentary on a first-come, first-serve basis. Overflow parking can use Ybor Garages and street parking.

To allow yourself the best experience please allot all 5 hours to enjoy all 6 locations. Trolleys are running every 25 minutes appx.

Alcoholic Beverages will be available at certain locations. You must present ID at the time of check-in.

Please visit our website www.tietheknotybor.com for information on honeymoon giveaways, trolley maps, vendors and more.

Founder’s Day

Founder’s Day

Date: May 15, 2021
Time: 12:00 am - 12:00 am
Location: J.C. Newman Cigar Co.

Join us on Saturday, May 15th from 10 am – 2 pm for tours, food trucks, lawn games, entertainment, and factory store deals. This is a family-friendly event and we’re excited to host you all.