don-barcoI wanted to name the store something that had to do with cigars, preferably a cigar name like Churhill or something. At the time there was another cigar store in Ybor that was doing the same thing with a great name, Perfectos (which is a cigar size). Churchill has been overused in the industry so I and a long time friend  who ended up working for me here for 14 years started brainstorming.

The word “corona” is used in the cigar industry for a medium sized cigar, so it was recognizable. Translated from Spanish  it means “crown”. It also is used in the growth of tobacco in Latin America as the top of the plant. I didn’t want to just use the word corona by itself, I wanted to combine it with something else, I considered “Kid Corona Cigars”, but it sounded a little juvenile, then I thought of the old Elvis Presley (King of Rock n Roll) movie “King Creole. King Corona. Sounded good together, I thought.

Also, since the Spanish word corona meant crown, it just seemed to go together. Joe Howden, the old friend of mine, and I worked though this process one day at Home Depot in about 10 minutes. I’ve received many compliments over the years about the name. It’s regal, like Ybor City is. That’s my story and I’m sticking to it.