Casa Molina Opens New Flagship New Orleans Location, Plans Cigar Factories for 2027

On Friday, Oct. 16, Casa Molina, a Baton Rouge-based cigar brand and retailer, is opening up a new store in New Orleans. Next year, that location, as well as its headquarters, will be rolling cigars.

The new location is described as the Casa Molina Cigar Manufactory and Maison, located at 1716 St. Charles Ave., just south of the Garden District and the convention center that the cigar industry has become familiar with during the last two years. For now, it is just a store, though that will change next year.

For years, Casa Molina has planned to roll cigars in Louisiana. The company has applied for permits for both its Baton Rouge headquarters and the new St. Charles location, which it expects to complete in phases next year.

Each location will start with two rollers. Luis Molina, principal of Casa Molina, told halfwheel that the Baton Rouge location is further along in getting a manufacturing permit from the U.S. Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau, something that is required to make cigars in the U.S. He expects Baton Rouge to start rolling early next year, while St. Charles will likely take until the summer. To start, the company is hoping to roll 200,000 cigars per year between the two locations.

The cigars rolled at St. Charles will likely only be available at the New Orleans store, while Baton Rouge will make cigars that will be offered wholesale to retailers around the country. In addition, St. Charles will likely have store-exclusive brands and sizes.

“St. Charles Avenue is where New Orleans wears its history proudly, and a great cigar carries its own,” said Molina in a press release. “Every cigar tells a story: the leaf, the farm, the hands that rolled it. The Maison is a place to slow down, hear those stories and share a few of our own.”

The company says that the store is located directly on the Uptown Mardi Gras parade route.

“We’ve spent over 16 years earning the trust of Louisiana smokers one handshake at a time,” said Roberto Molina, co-founder of Casa Molina. “Opening on St. Charles is a proud moment for our family, and a way to thank a city that has always welcomed us and allowed us to raise our first-generation American children.”

In addition, Casa Molina has teased an upcoming new line: Boeuf Gras.

It’s a new line that will be made by TABACALERA LA iSLA in the Dominican Republic, but using perique tobacco that is grown in St. James Parish, north of New Orleans.

Luis Molina said the company is still working on the blend, but expects it to be on display at the 2027 PCA Convention & Trade Show, which takes place March 6-8 in New Orleans.

Boeuf Gras, French for fat ox, is a historical carnival tradition that originated with butchers parading a large ox or replica. An engraving shows a boeuf gras being paraded in New Orleans in 1873.

Above image via Infrogmation

Charlie Minato

I am an editor and co-founder of halfwheel.com/Rueda Media, LLC. Previously, I started TheCigarFeed, one of the two predecessors blogs of halfwheel. I have written about the cigar industry since 2010, covering everything from product launches to regulation to M&A. Beyond writing, I handle a lot of the behind-the-scenes stuff from weighing cigars to coordinating the tech. Outside of work, I enjoy playing tennis, watching boxing, falling asleep to the Le Mans 24, wearing sweatshirts year-round and eating gyros. echte liebe.