Some things are written before you’re old enough to read.
That photo above is me as a baby, held by my father — surrounded by tobacco shelves in our family’s store. I didn’t choose this industry. It chose me before I could walk. This is the story of The Cigar Vault — formerly known as Frisky Cigars — and how it became mine.
My father spent decades running gas stations across northern New Jersey. In 2019, he and my uncle added a small humidor to one of the locations in Maywood — just to see. Within a year that one humidor turned into seventeen. The demand was real, and so was the passion.
That success led them to something bigger. They opened a wholesale and retail operation right here in Pine Brook — first under the name Cigar Outlet, with a retail showroom up front and a full wholesale operation in the back. I started working here from day one, learning the craft, learning the business, learning what makes a great cigar and what makes a great experience.
Then in September 2025, my father and uncle decided to move on. The store went up for sale. I watched offer after offer come in — lowball after lowball — and something in me said no. This place deserved better.
So I bought it. It wasn’t cheap. But I call it the price of freedom.
That’s how The Cigar Vault was born. A family story that started in a gas station, built through years of hard work, and now carried forward by someone who grew up in it — and who shows up every single day because this isn’t just a business. It’s personal.
My name is Selim, and The Cigar Vault is my life’s work. Come in and introduce yourself — I’ll be the one behind the counter.
Personal. Passionate. Premium.
