United Cigar Stores was a chain of cigar stores in the United States that in its first quarter-century grew to nearly 3,000 shops. It eventually became part of the corporation that bought Marvel Comics and its parent company Magazine Management from their founder in 1968.
History
Brothers Charles A. Whelan and George J. Whelan founded a tobacco wholesale firm in Syracuse, New York, in 1901, eventually turning to retail. By 1926, the chain had nearly 3,000 stores.[1] Though initially specializing in cigars, it eventually sold many other items, such as Mickey Mouse watches and shoe trees.[2] The chain represented the interests of the Consolidated Tobacco Company, the tobacco trust that controlled the American Tobacco Company and others.