Four Morris Park businesses
reopen after devastating fi res
BRONX TIMES REPORTER, M 16 AY 31-JUNE 6, 2019 BTR
Dominick Principato stands in his new humidor inside of his new store at
1129 Morris Park Avenue. Avenue Cigar was temporarily sidelined by a fi re
on December 23, 2019 but was able to reopen recently in a new location.
Schneps Media / Patrick Rocchio
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,BY PATRICK ROCCHIO
Businesses in Morris Park
that had a run of bad luck are
now open and back on track.
Two fi res knocked out four
businesses along the Morris
Park Avenue in 2018 and early
this year. Now the proprietors
of those establishments, after
much trial and toil, are back
to doing what they do best.
Avenue Cigar Lounge,
which was destroyed in a fi re
that also damaged an adjacent
hair salon and a second fl oor
apartment at the corner of
Lurting Avenue on December
23, 2018, reopened recently at
1129 Morris Park Avenue, between
Williamsbridge Road
and Tomlinson Avenue.
Dominick Principato stood
proudly in his new walk-in,
cedar-lined humidor recently
and talked about the selection
of fi ne imported cigars he offers
from Honduras, Nicaragua and
the Dominican Republic.
He said the blaze at his previous
location was a devastating
set back. It took months
to identify a new location and
then build out the store, which
he took over in March.
As bad as the pre-Christmas
fi re was at the end of the
holiday season, he truly feels
that it could have been worse.
“It was really bad timing,
but no one got hurt,” said the
cigar store proprietor. “Stores
and buildings can get rebuilt,
but lives don’t come back.”
At fi rst he wasn’t sure if
he’d be able to fi nd a store in
the same vicinity as his previous
shop, that was founded in
2009. He purchased the business
in 2016.
“It is a home away from
home for these guys” said
Principato of the shop, adding
that many people in the area
appreciated the original store
because it was open late and
provided “eyes on the street.”
The new location promises
more of the same winning formula,
and thankfully Principato
said he is seeing many of
the patrons from the previous
store return.
“The word is getting
around and a lot of the old
faces are coming back, and
hopefully I will get some new
faces too,” he said.
Principato grew up in Morris
Park and after some time
living elsewhere, he moved
back to the community.
He carries 200 different
types of cigars including wellknown
brands like Romeo and
Juliet, A.J. Fernandez, Padron,
Nat Sherman, Oliva and
Avo Cigars.
The shop features 21 chairs,
three televisions and a group
of cigar enthusiasts that discuss
sports, politics and everything
in between, he said.
At 1003 and 1005 Morris
Park Avenue another fi re that
originated in a second fl oor
apartment above stores temporarily
knocked out Luciano’s
Pizza for three weeks, said its
co-owner Leopoldo Cervantes.
Once cleaning was complete
and the insurance payout
arrived, the pizzeria was
back in business, he said.
“Thank God we got things
going and are back in business,”
said Cervantes, adding
that local residents were asking
him when the store was going
to reopen. They were very
supportive.
“This business has been
in the community for over 40
years and we wanted to come
back,” he said, adding that a
jiu-jitsu establishment next
door also closed for a short
time before reopening.
The fi re at 1003 Morris
Park Avenue resulted in the
arrest of Ariel Santiago, who
was charged with arson, reckless
endangerment and criminal
mischief, according to a
previous Bronx Times report.