Van Dalen Cigars Rotterdam relocating?
Van Dalen Rotterdam relocating? Last week Sasja van Horssen, a well-known figure in the European cigar industry, posted a cryptic message on Facebook. We reported about it and this week Van Horssen revealed more. And it’s not about Cigaragua, but about Van Dalen Cigars Rotterdam.
Van Horssen, the third generation in tobacco, has had a shop in Den Bosch for over a decade. In 2011 he bought one of the most renowned tobacco shops in the country of The Netherlands. That shop, Van Dalen Cigars, was one of the first shops to have a walk-in humidor and had a great reputation. The building was sold to another party so the shop relocated about 300 meters away. It went from Meent to the Pannekoekstraat in Rotterdam.
RELOCATION
From day one the new location was a great success. Quite soon the shop became too small. After a renovation two years ago the non-cigar-related tobacco selection got smaller. The lounge moved more into the store so the humidor could become bigger but space is still an issue. Van Horssen is looking to relocate the store to a 753 square meter building. The building has an even better location within walking distance from the current shop. Now there is no white smoke yet, Van Horssen is running the numbers to see if the move is realistic. If it is, Van Dalen Cigars Rotterdam will become the biggest cigar shop in Europe as far as we know.
ASSORTMENT
Now, what’s important for us, cigar aficionados, is will it mean that the assortment will expend? We reached out to Van Horssen and the answer is yes. Currently, with the lack of space in every shop in The Netherlands, and the number of cigars sold throughout the country, Van Horssen cherry-picks. He only imports the most common vitolas and best-selling lines from all the brands he imports, but with the new shop, he has room to import every single size and blend from the companies he represents.
The shop won’t be an all Nicaragua shop under the Cigaragua name, as the flagship store in Amsterdam. There might be a special Cigaragua department within the shop itself, much like Cigarworld in Dusseldorf has a special La Casa del Habano department in their shop.
As cigar enthusiasts, we hope that the numbers add up and that Van Horssen will take on this massive job to open the largest cigar shop in Europe. We can’t wait to see the outcome.
