In February of 1972,Lou Bellatto, while working daytime hours at a local magazine wholesaler, decided to open Girard Book and News, which was a small cigar/tobacco store in Girard, Ohio located in the northeastern part of Ohio. The store opened with the first self-serve cigar humidor. At that time the store had one brand of domestic and one brand of imported cigars, and a small selection of domestic pipe tobacco.

In 1973,Geno Bellatto came to work for his father at the age of 16. At that time, they were the only two people employed by Girard Book&News. Since that time, two additional stores have been opened, Plaza Book & Smoke Shop  in Boardman, Ohio and, Plaza Book & Smoke in Austintown, Ohio. We now carry hundreds of imported and domestic cigars, and a wide selection of imported and domestic tobacco, along with cigars, pipe accessories, Zippo and Colibri lighters, and various brands of pipes.

The company went from one store and two employees to three stores and nearly 50 employees and that's when Geno, who is now the President decided to create Cigars by Geno. Because of his love for cigars, he wanted to create this website for others to be able to enjoy cigars and tobacco, and to have easy access to purchasing their favorite brand.

If we don't have a brand you're looking for, e-mail us and we'll sure do our best to get it for you.

We hope you enjoy our site and if you have any questions or suggestions , please contact us for more information.