For twelve more years, Arturo Fuente continued producing fine cigars.  However, in 1924, tragedy struck and the business was lost in a fire.  With the possibility of bankruptcy looming overhead, Arturo sought employment with other cigar manufacturers in an attempt to pay off his creditors.  In twenty years, he had successfully paid off his creditors and saved enough money to reopen his business from the back of his home.  This time he named the company the Arturo Fuente Cigar Company.  For the next ten years, sales gradually increased and business boomed.  The need for a larger facility necessitated the move to a two-story facility where the production space was larger and the family could live above the factory.  Arturo, his wife, and his two sons Arturo Oscar and Carlos, lived above the facility and ran the business.  

    The 1960s brought even more success to the Fuentes and another move to a larger facility became necessary.  This time the factory moved into the “Charles the Great” factory, a red brick building that is still considered an historical landmark and architectural prize in Ybor City.  Also in the 1960s, Carlos became president of the company and his brother Arturo Oscar assumed the vice presidency.  The 1970s brought about significant change for the company.  As the nation was undergoing financial difficulties and inflation was rampant, the company, now known as the Tabacalera A. Fuente y Compania, was forced to look elsewhere for skilled labor due to the shortage of it in the Tampa area.  The opening of factories in Nicaragua and Honduras also added to the company’s woes, so the Fuentes decided it was time to make a change.  That change came when the family decided that it was time to open an operation in the Dominican Republic.  The operations in Ybor City remained open until 1994, but much emphasis had been placed on the operations in the Dominican Republic, so much so that the factory grew and by the 21st century had over 2500 employees.  It was also in the 1970s that the company experienced one of its greatest losses, the death of its founder Arturo Fuentes in 1973.

    Today, the company is still going strong.  Arturo Oscar retired from the business in 1994 and opened a mail order outlet inside the factory.  The mail order outlet runs the outlet and ships ordersbecame known as Tampa Sweethearts.  The Fuentes family  of fine, hand rolled cigars anywhere in the world.

    Today, Fuentes cigars are come in one of five wrapper colors.  Those are natural, maduro, sun grown, shade grown and claro claro.  Fuente cigars have earned an international reputation and tend to be sought after all over the world; in some places they are even more popular and sought after than Cuban brands.  These cigars have a sweet, spicy flavor with a medium to rich bodied smoke.  Below are some of the more popular brands.

*A. Fuente Don Carlos Cigars-These are some of the finest hand rolled cigars produced by the company.  The tobacco used in these is of a rare vintage.  Their dark Cameroon wrappers seep with oil and flavor.  

*Hemmingways-These are made completely by hand and packaged in a hand turned cedar box.

*Arturo Fuente Cigars -These cigars are aged in Spanish cedar vaults, which create the right blend.  These cigars are also heavyweights.

*Montesino Cigars-These cigars are aged for long periods of time to ensure full flavor.  These cigars are wrapped in Connecticut shade natural colored wrappers or Ecuadorian sun grown natural.  They are packaged in regular dressed wood boxes; the Ecuadorian sun grown colored ones are packaged in cabinet cedar wood boxes.

*Flor de Ybor City Cigars-Named for the original location of the factory, these hand rolled cigars have mild, rich, full-flavored satisfying taste.  They come with a Connecticut shade natural wrapper or Connecticut broadleaf maduro wrapper.

*Casa Cuba Cigars-This brand is smaller than most of those other brands, and is packaged in groups of 25.  These cigars come with a natural shade wrapper.

*Tampa Sweetheart Cigars-These cigars are also sold in bundles of 20-25.  They are available in both natural and maduro colors.  While these cigars are very popular, apprentice rollers roll them and may have slight imperfections.

*Diamond Crown Cigars- These are often called the Opus of the West.  The smoke from the Diamond Crowns smells of sweet cream, cocoa, coffee, and sour cream.

*Ashton Cigars -These cigars are medium bodied, creamy, have a great construction and amazing finish.

*Cuesta Ray Cigars -This line includes a medium to rich blend and sweet spicy tones.  Most consider this brand as one of Fuentes’ most reasonably priced lines.

*Fuente Fuente Opus X-This is one of Fuente’s most popular brands.  This brand is very rich and features an all-Dominican construction.  Its Dominican rosada wrapper has a reddish color.  It has a unique earthly flavor and is quite popular among cigar connoisseurs.  

    The company still produces fine cigars enjoyed by millions across the globe.  Many point to the company’s adversity, including fires, death of its founder, trade embargoes placed on the country where they are manufactured as well as its political upheaval, for the answer to why the company has been so successful.  As many in the Arturo family say, the willingness to make fine cigars will lead to overcoming obstacles.  The company is still strong financially, and the popular lines of Fuente Cigars are still sought after and smoked by cigar lovers everywhere.  Many of their fine lines have received special recognition from trade journals and connoisseurs in Europe and the United States.  It is certainly no secret that hard work and dedication have helped produce these fine lines of cigars since 1912.