Steve Zengel, the founder and CEO of Los Caidos Cigars died on April 23, 2023, after a brief illness.

Zengel, who held a Doctorate degree from Rutgers University in New Brunswick, had been in the cigar business for over a decade. In 2012, he would found Beach House Cigars in Seaside Heights with a group of friends. Later that year, the store was destroyed by Hurricane Sandy. Following the storm, the store would relocate to Wall, New Jersey.

Steve was affected by the tragic death of two law enforcement officers, Christopher Matlosz, a Lakewood (NJ) police officer, and Marc Castellano, A New Jersey State Trooper, both of whom were killed approximately ten miles from the new location. It was from that point that Steve would turn his attention to helping the families of fallen police and firefighters. He would establish the Los Caidos brand and dedicate $1.00 from the sale of each cigar to raise and distribute funds to those families affected by a fallen police officer or firefighter.

Los Caidos would have two blends made by Aganorsa Leaf, Los Caidos Blue and Los Caidos Red. Both are identical Nicaraguan puros. While the blend was the same, the cause was different. Los Caidos Blue goes to help the families of fallen police officers. Los Caidos Red goes to help fallen firefighters. Steve not only sold the cigars, but he also worked a grassroots effort through events to sell the cigars in order to raise funds.

He added another component to helping these causes with the Life of Ridetime program. This involved organizing motorcycle rides (Steve was an avid Harley Davidson enthusiast) and combining them with cigar events in order to expand on the cause of Los Caidos to help fallen police and firefighter families.

Steve is survived by his wife Lorri and their sons, Will and Chris.

Photo Credit: Steve Zengel, Linked In

Correction: We had inaccurately listed Life of a Ridetime as Ride of Lifetime. We apologize for that mistake.