About Us

About ATL Cigar Co.

ATL Cigar Co. is built around two simple convictions. First, a great cigar isn’t something one simply smokes—it’s a moment that creates space. Space to slow down, to reflect, and to connect with others in a way modern life rarely allows. Second, Atlanta is the perfect palate for crafting cigars that invite deep reflection and connection.

Atlanta holds contradictions. She is a place marked by deep wounds and extraordinary resilience—shaped by slavery and civil rights, by segregation and self-sacrificing leadership. She has known violence, division, and loss, and yet has given rise to world-changing movements, music, culture, and innovation. Atlanta carries her gems and its ghosts closely, rarely pretending one exists without the other.

And just as Atlanta holds multitudes, so do our cigars. Some of our blends carry weight—conviction and swagger. Others carry joy, wordplay, and a wink. All of them are rooted in the belief that meaning is something discovered, not merely assigned.

Before the Cigars

ATL Cigar Co. didn’t begin as a business idea. It began as a practice.

More than a decade ago, the three founders, Peter Gross, Janelle Lamar, and Leroy Lamar, were neighbors on Atlanta’s southwest side, sharing a neighborhood that—like the city itself—was changing quickly. Drugs and violence sat alongside resilience and hope. In response, they started something simple, yet novel: a free hot dog stand known as Prayer and Hot Dogs. It became a place where people who might never have met otherwise stood shoulder to shoulder—young professionals and ex-cons, trap queens and church ladies—sharing food, conversation, and presence.

After those gatherings, reflection often continued over cigars. In those slower moments, something became clear: even one shared thing can be enough to start a conversation. Conversations can become connection. And connection, over time, can heal wounded places and wounded people. That realization became the heartbeat of ATL Cigar Co.

Over time, questions emerged: What if more people could experience moments like this? What if a cigar could help create space—for reflection, for conversation, for seeing one another more clearly?

Crafted with Partners We Respect

ATL cigars are made in Estelí, Nicaragua, in partnership with Tabacalera Hernandez, a factory we trust and respect deeply. From the beginning, our work has been guided by shared standards of quality, consistency, and care.

These cigars are the result of close collaboration with people who understand our blends, our vision, and the kind of experience we want to offer—one cigar at a time.

Where We Are Today

Founded in 2020 and launched in 2021, ATL Cigar Co. is now carried in more than 200 premium tobacco stores nationwide, as well as in Canada and Puerto Rico. Our cigars have been featured in Top 10 Cigars of the Year lists by Stogie Press and The Blaze Report, and covered by major industry publications including Cigar Aficionado, Cigar Snob, Cigar Journal, Halfwheel, and Tobacco Business.

We are proof that ATL is more than a city—it’s an idea, still unfolding, and carried far beyond its city limits.

Thanks for visiting us—and welcome to the A.