Favilli cigars announced today that it is ending operations in the cigar industry. The company was formerly known as Mombacho Cigars when it hit purchased the Favilli Mansion in Granada, Nicaragua and hit the cigar scene in the US in 2014. The company saw the resignation of their president and master blender, Claudio Sgroi, in 2021 and has had trouble recovering in the market ever since. They announced later that year that they had brought on Indiana Ortez as General Manager, but nothing ever seemed to materialize from that. There were a few other projects announced throughout the last couple years such as the one with Fabien Ziegler and a new Granada line, but nothing seemed to gain traction. The company’s cigars always rated highly in our blind tests, but we are not surprised by this announcement given the track record of the last few years.
The company released this statement:
To our wonderful & distinguished clientele, friends, family, partners, & supporters:
In 2006, when Mombacho was founded by backpackers enamored by Nicaragua’s beauty, one could not have imagined that while on the top of Volcano Mombacho with cigar in hand, an adventure of nearly two decades would turn into such a lifetime experience. You have traversed that experience with us by supporting our brands and ideas through three locations in Granada, Nicaragua, and every time you selected one of our products to spend your time with.
In 2014, when we purchased the Favilli Mansion, we firmly knew our goal was to grow and compete on the global stage as a luxury producer of fine, handcrafted cigars. The Favilli Mansion was where we could bring this vision to life and allow worldwide travelers and consumers to experience Nicaragua’s beauty by way of one of her finest treasure, the cigar. In 2021, we best understood that what you supported and what we had worked toward was overdue in terms of being presented in a way that would gain appreciation and awareness on the global stage for our production, for Granada, and for Nicaragua. We remodeled the international landmark, the Favilli Mansion, and opened to the world one of Central America’s most luxurious experiential sites which included four-floors of cocktail bars, cigars, event space, and sheer elegance in the gilded Favilli Mansion.
In this 2023, we have announced our retirement from the cigar industry and luxury hospitality space. We understand this may come as a surprise to our clientele and the cigar industry in general, but as a conglomerate of cigar and hospitality professionals, we have collectively decided to seek life’s next stage of endeavors and adventures.
We therefore send a deep and gracious thanks to all of you clientele, friends, and family who have shared this vision and time with us. We cannot say goodbye, as we may again cross paths in this small, small world, but we do bid you a farewell for this moment.
Please know that a piece of our hearts are deeply rooted in what was Mombacho and Favilli, and that everyone to have been involved holds tightly to the memories and experiences we all shared on this journey.
On behalf of Granada, the entire founding team, factory employees, hospitality employees, investors, partners, and friends of Mombacho and Favilli, we extend to you a profound thanks and cherish every one of you.
Sincerely, from the Operating Partners
Cameron Heaps
Founder of Mombacho Cigars SA
Jared Michaeli
President & Co-founder of Favilli
