Local Shop Caters to Cigar Aficionados and Novices Alike

While many of his classmates at Freehold Township High School were deciding where they wanted to go after graduation, Jim Moretti III said he knew that more than anything else he wanted to start his own business. 

With the help of his parents, that dream was realized eight years ago when they opened in a small shop on the southbound side of Route 9. Having gained an interest in cigars at an early age, Moretti said getting into the business was an easy decision for him and his father.

"I knew cigars and he knew cigars so we went with it."

Since opening their doors the Morettis said they continue to learn more to help their customers as best they can. "It's like anything else. You're going to start learning, then you start reading, then you start talking to other people and going to other stores," the younger owner said. 

The shop is easy to pass on Route 9 without even realizing it's there. The business also is deceptively small; inside there is seemingly everything a customer could need at the shop. The Howell shop utilizes just about every inch of its 800 square feet. "We have a wide selection of cigars for this area," the elder Moretti said. "People love it."

The father and son also are aware that there may be questions about selling tobacco products at a time when there is more regulation in that area than in previous years. They said that unlike cigarettes, the use of cigars when used correctly can be more of a recreational activity as opposed to an addicting habit. 

Moretti Jr. also said people smoke cigars for different reasons than cigarettes. Unlike cigarettes, which can be finished in a matter of minutes, cigars, he said, are meant to be more of a slow-paced activity. "It's a society. You sit there, you smoke, you talk, you have a good conversation and you're relaxed," he said. "A cigarette you're not relaxing. A cigarette you're smoking it fast."

And while most of their clients are men, Moretti Jr. said they also have women who come in either to buy items for themselves or their husbands or other men in their lives. "Our motto is you enter as strangers and you leave as friends," he said. "We treat them with respect because she's going to come back again to buy her husband cigars. She's also going to tell her husband, 'you know those guys at Lite-Em Up, they're real nice guys. I want you to buy your cigars there from now on.'"

For those people who are either well versed in cigars or trying one for the first time, both owners said they enjoy helping customers to learn more about the experience. For the newcomer, Moretti III said there are several aspects to consider including not giving them something too strong and also figuring out how much they want to spend in their early stages.

"You can bring anybody in here that wants to get interested and we can cater to them to get the specific cigar to fit their personality," he said.

The store also sells other tobacco products, but they specialize in cigars with most of their products coming from Central and South America. 

In the eight years the shop has been open, Moretti III said he has learned a lot not only about the business but also about life in general.

"A 21-year-old kid opening up this business has a different mindset of what it's actually going to be like," he said. "When I'm 21-years-old, I own my own business, I have no boss, you think it's going to be a cake walk but it's totally different. It's a lot harder."

While his son's professional career is still getting started, the elder Moretti is spending his time at the shop as part of his retirement from his career as a deputy chief of the police department of the University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey. 

"A lot of these guys, that was their only business," he said of other similar businesses that have closed around the area. "If this was a partnership it would be very difficult because this is not a million-dollar business where you can have all kids of employees working for you. We're a small shop and that's what keeps our low overhead as low. That's what keeps us in business."

Moretti Jr. said if his son has his way, the shop in Howell may not be the only one he opens in the future. "We have friends who own two or three more shops. He has that that vision," he said. "I'm ready to get out and hand the whole thing to him," he added with a laugh.