Steve D’Avanzo stands in the center of the walk-in humidor of the Treasure Valley Smoke Shop in Meridian, walls lined with more than 400 boxes of cigars. A smile stretches across his round face as he looks at the inventory.

“Our humidor is made entirely of kiln-dried Spanish cedar,” he says, “to ensure freshness and minimize any possible insect infestation. It may have been a little over the top, but it’s worth it to keep things fresh and enjoyable.”
As he strokes a box of Montecristo Aniversarios, he says not every cigar is made the same, and sometimes prices do not predict the flavor. He leans gently on the wall, akin to a guardian of a priceless treasure trove.
“Smoking a cigar is not just smoking, it’s a break,” he says. “When your wife calls out back and says things like, ‘Why don’t you smoke your cigar and cut the grass at the same time,’ you have to respond, ‘Can’t you see I’m smoking?’”
Despite having lived out West for the past 28 years, D’Avanzo’s New Yorker accent betrays him as he says he has always felt smoking a cigar was a pleasure: enjoyed, not rushed.
He says that’s why he decided to open the cigar shop, because it combined his passions. D’Avanzo says his other passion is to be with people. “I just like talking to people about things – sports, music, cigars.”
This burly New Yorker moved to the Bay Area to work in the electrical supply industry. He was moved to Idaho a year ago, but was suddenly forced into a career change. The owner of the electrical supply company celebrated his 65th birthday, walked into the office, packed his boxes, turned and said to D’Avanzo that he was done with the business, and closed the doors.
“My daughter [Julie] and her husband had moved to Meridian some time ago,” he says. “They were looking to open a restaurant [The Press Room] and make a go of it.”
He says that after visiting the area, he too fell in love with downtown Meridian.
“Not the new developments, but the older downtown has just got that certain life to it,” he says.
After looking at a number of buildings, his son in-law, Rick Valenzuela, a Paris-trained chef who had been working in the Boise area for a local restaurateur, found the old building with two store fronts. D’Avanzo and Valenzuela decided to purchase the 95-year-old building in the 100 block of Idaho Avenue.
“I took a look at it and thought, ‘What could we put here?’” D’Avanzo says.
Shortly after that, he was filled with excitement as he proposed a “Napa Valley boutique” similar to those in the Northern California regions. The idea of a “cigar club” where men and women who enjoy cigars could come, buy a fine cigar, and sit in a leather chair, watch TV, and order a drink and a meal from the restaurant, soon evolved, he says.  
“I shared the idea with some people and despite smoking bans, Idahoans seem to be open and accommodating.”
He says he finds his cigars at various places, including the Internet and in trade papers. “I’m looking for cigars that are highly rated at reasonable prices.”
He says he looks back on it now after being in business for nearly a year and says he couldn’t have seen it any clearer after the doors opened.
He says he hopes people recognize that there are other smoke shops which offer great cigars. He refers to Sturmans in downtown Boise as a prime example of being in a good location for Boise, or Babylon Smoke Shop a little further out. But, anyone who lives in Meridian would have to drive 20 minutes to enjoy a cigar.
“Who wants to drive that far?” he says. “We’re not in the same market as the businessmen’s location downtown, but we are in the same market in providing a great cigar.”
In addition to the humidor, adjacent lockers are lined with cedar and are offered to clients.
“You can rent a locker and keep your box of cigars here in a controlled atmosphere,” D’Avanzo says.
With that, D’Avanzo says cigar smoking, a classic in its day, still remains a symbol of style and elegance. The walls in the shop are donned with photographs of celebrities and stars that have enjoyed the “break” of a cigar.