About Us
Founder, Black Smoke Street™
Dorian L. Smith
Dorian L. Smith is the founder of Black Smoke Street™, a national initiative dedicated to uniting Black premium cigar smokers through community, entrepreneurship, education, and economic opportunity. His vision is to build an organization that not only celebrates premium cigar culture but also strengthens Black ownership, supports Black-owned cigar businesses, and creates opportunities that leave a lasting legacy for future generations.
With more than 25 years of leadership experience spanning business development, marketing, community engagement, and nonprofit leadership, Dorian has built a career around bringing people together to achieve meaningful results. Throughout his professional journey, he has led strategic growth initiatives, developed partnerships across the public and private sectors, and helped organizations expand their impact through collaboration and innovation.
Together with his wife, Ivonne, Dorian owns and operates two premium cigar lounges; one in Akron, Ohio, and one in Hallandale Beach, Florida. Through these businesses, they have created welcoming spaces where people from diverse backgrounds come together to build relationships, exchange ideas, celebrate culture, and strengthen their communities. Their experience as business owners has provided firsthand insight into both the opportunities and challenges facing the premium cigar industry.
Dorian L. Smith is the founder of Black Smoke Street™, a national initiative dedicated to uniting Black premium cigar smokers through community, entrepreneurship, education, and economic opportunity. His vision is to build an organization that not only celebrates premium cigar culture but also strengthens Black ownership, supports Black-owned cigar businesses, and creates opportunities that leave a lasting legacy for future generations.
As a lifelong entrepreneur and respected leader within the premium cigar community, Dorian believes the cigar is more than a luxury product, it is a catalyst for conversation, relationship-building, mentorship, and business opportunity. Black Smoke Street™ was created from that belief and from a desire to build a national platform where Black premium cigar smokers can connect, learn, support one another, and help shape the future of the industry.
Dorian’s vision extends beyond events and networking. He envisions Black Smoke Street™ as a comprehensive ecosystem that promotes education, leadership development, business growth, strategic partnerships, and increased Black participation throughout the premium cigar industry. Through conferences, educational programming, media, mentorship, and collaborative initiatives, he aims to foster a culture of ownership, excellence, and generational impact.
He also serves as the founder of Who Did They Ask?™, an independent research organization committed to ensuring that communities are represented through credible, transparent, and people-centered research. Together, these initiatives reflect his broader commitment to empowering communities through information, opportunity, and collaboration.
Dorian holds a Master of Business Administration (MBA) and a Master of Social Work (MSW). His leadership philosophy is grounded in service, integrity, strategic thinking, and the belief that meaningful change begins by bringing people together around a common purpose.
Through Black Smoke Street™, Dorian is working to create more than an organization, he is building a movement dedicated to strengthening relationships, expanding opportunity, encouraging ownership, and leaving a legacy that will benefit generations to come.