Hannah and Carlos Lopez are the husband-and-wife real estate team The Lopez Group. But when they aren’t matching homes to prospective homeowners, they own and operate Fire & Ash, a mobile cigar and espresso lounge based in St. Augustine.
Tell me about Fire & Ash.
Hannah Lopez: We launched in March. The concept of Fire & Ash is a super-sleek mobile trailer. On the inside, we have a custom-made humidor and also an espresso machine. …
Carlos is from Havana, Cuba, so we really wanted to tie in a lot of his culture with kind of like a Cuban flair, and so we figured that espresso and cigars are really the perfect way to tie it together.
We offer a pop-up lounge, as well, for different events, so people can network and hang out and relax while they smoke their cigars. …
They (customers) order from the window, and they can smell the coffee and see the premium cigars that we offer.
Carlos is the cigar king of the truck, so he’s the one who can help guide consumers with what would be a good match for them.
Are there any brands you want to mention?
Carlos Lopez: We just have pretty much very popular brands like Montecristo, Romeo y Julieta and Perdomo, but we can carry any brand out there, and we do rotate our inventory.
What kinds of events do you bring your truck to?
Hannah Lopez: We can take it to any sort of private event. Right now, we’re kind of looking at golf tournaments, corporate events, private events — even birthday parties and stuff like that — but really, we like to do it on a higher end, higher scale. So, like a wedding, where there are enough people who can enjoy it. We can really provide an elevated service for that specific event.
I think golf tournaments are great and the cigars are really a great fit, because they can buy as many as they want, take them out to the course, and they can really enjoy those throughout the day.
You have a really cool portable lounge setup.
Hannah Lopez: We have a black couch and four chairs. We also offer four-feet-tall ash trays that go around the lounge with the huge rug and then some cocktail side tables.
Really, it’s just like a comfortable place for them to sit and smoke and just kind of enjoy themselves.
Have you ever done anything like this before?
Carlos Lopez: No, we’ve both actually worked in local cigar bars, but this is our first time running a business of this type. We are the only ones in St. Augustine and Duval County doing this. … I realized we have a lot of events here in St. Johns County where cigars could be a great fit. But no one is providing that service. And that’s where we came in and took advantage of the opportunity.
Tell me a little about your backgrounds.
Carlos Lopez: Like Hannah said, I am from Havana. I came to the U.S. in 2011. I moved straight from Havana to St. Augustine. I’ve been here since.
My background is really in law enforcement. I was a deputy for St. Johns County for five years until I decided to join my wife, Hannah, doing real estate. That’s our fulltime gig right now. I’ve always loved investing in real estate, so that’s really my passion — and building anything!
Hannah Lopez: We’re very entrepreneurial. I think that’s where the drive definitely comes from.
I got into real estate after my first child was born, so right around 2019. I was on a team before. Then in 2021 I decided to go out on my own. Now, Carlos and I are The Lopez Group. So, it’s he and I together as a husband-and-wife team.
I’m in real estate because I love to help people, and I’m all about building relationships and guiding them to financial freedom or whatever their goal is with real estate.
So, we’ve been doing real estate together, and now we have Fire & Ash, and I think Fire & Ash is a great way, also, to be involved in the community and get to know more people.
What do you like most about living in this area?
Hannah Lopez: I was born and raised here in St. Augustine, and I love where we live so much. It’s so like a small town, with a “beach” feel. … We just love having the simple life, and with kids, we’re able to pick up and go to the beach when we want to. We can go downtown. We can explore different areas. There’s always something to enjoy.
After high school, I lived in Spain for about a year and a half as a live-in nanny, and to me being in St. Augustine really reminds me of Spain. I love the cultural aspect, and it’s really cool also to see the Latin community really growing here.
How can readers contact Fire & Ash?
Hannah Lopez: They can look at our Instagram, which links directly to our website, fireandashevents.com.
On Instagram, we are fireandashcigartruck, and our email address is hello@fireandashevents.com. Or they can call me directly: 904-615-3092.
Anything else?
Hannah Lopez: We are definitely open to collaborating with local places, maybe a resort that wants us for any sort of special night, something where we can really provide a service for them and their guests. And maybe a restaurant or a rooftop bar or something like that. We’re definitely expanding to do, hopefully, a smaller setup that won’t involve the trailer.
But we’re definitely open to collaboration.
