It has been a while since my last blog entry.  We have been very busy here at UPtown’s and for that we feel very fortunate and we thank you, our customers.  Last night while I was enjoying to comforts of my recliner at home, something was on my mind.  Today I feel compelled to write about it.

A couple of weeks ago I had the national sales manager from a major cigar company here at the shop. During that visit, the person slipped up and actually said that two of their cigars were actually one; the same cigar; two different bands; two different brands, but the same cigar! Sadly, I was not shocked or surprised. But it made me think about how pleased I am about what is going on right up the road from us at Crowned Heads.

Crowned Heads is a breath of fresh air in the cigar world. Jon Huber and Mike Conder along with Michael Trebing and Nancy Heathman are the heart of Crowned Heads.  The key word there is “heart”. They have gone back to the basics of producing cigars and have truly put the cigars first. They could have easily cashed in on their history in the industry and launched a new company quickly and had cigars on the market months ago. Instead they chose to take their time and do it right, with integrity and honesty.  And they have shared every step of the journey with all of us. Their first cigars, Four Kicks, will hit the market sometime in November. The fact that they have partnered with Ernesto Perez-Carrillo in this venture should tell you something.  Ernesto is one of the greats in the cigar world; a legend in my opinion. This is a dream team.  An all-star band if you will. And the music they are making is sweet and warm.  It is like it was done in the old analog world.  There is no auto tuning with this band….just raw talent.

On a personal note, I truly feel like a part of the Crowned Heads family. Jon and Mike have been gracious enough to open their doors to me.  I was able to smoke samples as they were working on the blend. They valued my thoughts and opinion. I have been able to visit their office on several occasions and learn about their progress. Through it all, I have learned so much about the process.  Most importantly, I have gained a great deal of respect for them.  They are doing it right. Jon, Mike, Michael and Nancy are very good at what they do.  And they all bring an individual uniqueness to Crowned Heads. Not to rub it in (well I guess I am a little), I have had the pleasure of smoking a few sticks of the final blend. Four Kicks is a great cigar. And I would say that even if I didn’t know Jon and Mike. While smoking sample blends, I knew they were onto something very good.  A month or so ago I was sitting on the back deck at my cabin smoking one of the final blend Corona Gorda Four Kicks and I felt the need to send Jon Huber a text at 11:00 at night to tell him just how good the cigar was.  I have not been this excited about a cigar since I was introduced to Elogio a couple of years ago.

To say that we at UPtown’s are very excited about the Four Kicks cigars would be an understatement. We are proud to be in the first group of retailers to get the cigars.  Being their first shop to be featured for their Retailer Spotlight was a blast. And we want to sincerely thank Crowned Heads for keeping their integrity and making Four Kicks a cigar that will be available only at brick and mortar retailers.  

I almost feel like the “unofficial fifth kick”!  It has been a blast being a part of this from the beginning. To Jon, Mike, Michael and Nancy: be proud of what you have accomplished. And thank you for doing it right. And thank you for letting UPtown’s and myself be a part of it. This is just the beginning!  Be looking for Four Kicks from Crowned Heads at retail stores soon!

March 10, 2010 – I have gotten enough emails to convince me that I need to start posting blog entries again!  Check back next week!

December 7, 2010 - One thing is certain in the cigar industry.  What is certain is the fact that the industry is always changing.  Some good changes, some not so good.  2011 should prove to be an interesting year.  We are all curious about the whole Sam Leccia parting with Oliva situation. What will Sam end up doing?  What is the whole Studio Tobac deal?  It is all over the Internet, yet the retailers are being told very little about it.  At least that is the case here at UPtown’s. But perhaps the most curiosity about the future comes from the CAO, General Cigar merger.  The curiosity is not just amongst the retailers, but the consumers as well.  While I have my own personal thoughts, I will not speculate on the future of CAO or General Cigar.  But I will share my thoughts about the past…

In the early 1990’s, Cano Ozgener, founder and president of CAO International at the time was already a familiar name in the pipe business, and had also spread his success into the humidor business. It would be a natural transition to introduce a cigar.  But the cigar had to be one that he would be proud to put his name on and introduce to the market.  Cano had a dream, and when he began working with Honduran cigar maker Nestor Plasencia, his dream was met.

On September 28, 1995, Ozgener invited about 100 people to celebrate the CAO line of cigars with a black-tie affair that was held at the Loews Vanderbilt Plaza Ballroom in Nashville.  The evening began with a champagne and cigar reception.  Guests sampled the CAO Corona Gorda during the reception.  Following the reception, Cano spoke to the crowd and thanked those who helped him accomplish his dream.  He thanked Cuban-born  Carlos Torano.  He also thanked Bill Nunnelly, owner of UPtown’s Smoke Shop, which co-sponsored the event.

What followed that special evening was an amazing 15 year relationship between two companies that would go on to become Nashville icons…..CAO International and UPtown’s Smoke Shop. The two companies shared the stage for many years at events and functions around Nashville.  CAO sales rep Jeff  Tinnell got his start in the industry working at UPtown’s.  I read a story once about CAO’s Director of Lifestyle Marketing, Jon Huber.  In the story Jon is quoted as saying his passion for cigars began one day when he walked into UPtown’s humidor and was fascinated by the cigar selection.  It was then that he decided he wanted to work in the cigar industry. In 2002, Forbes named UPtown’s Smoke Shop one of the World’s Top 12 Tobacconists.  To this day a plauqe hangs proudly in our shop that was presented to UPtown’s by CAO to congradulate us on the accomplishment.

I was hired to manage UPtown’s in early 2007.  I confess I was just a casual cigar smoker at the time.  My background was in sales and marketing and the music industry. But I quickly learned about the history of UPtown’s and made it my mission and passion to once again make UPtown’s one of the leaders in the industry. I also learned about the history and success of CAO.  Their cigars were very good, but it was my opinion that a large part of CAO’s success was a direct result of the people who worked for the company. The personalities. The passion.  As I worked to build the future of UPtown’s, I always kept my opinion of CAO’s success in the back of my mind.

When UPtown’s opened our new store in 2008, it was only fitting that CAO stepped up to the plate for us.  They branded our lounge areas.  They played a very important role in our grand opening events.  By that time I had grown a great working relationship with Tim Ozgener, Jon Huber and Jeff Tinnell.  We all had a great mutual respect for each other, which continues to this day.

Again, I won’t speculate on the future.  But I will miss the past. I will miss not being able to call the CAO office and hearing Susie’s voice on the other end of the line.  What a great ambassador she has been for them.  I will miss walking into a cigar company and having everyone there know me by name.  I will miss the random dinners we had with Jeff and Jon after events at UPtown’s.  I will definitely miss the great functions and parties CAO threw over the years.  The Palms in Las Vegas was certainly a night I will never forget!

I have been told that the employees at CAO have been told that for every door that closes, another one opens.  I believe that.  Yes, it has certainly been one hell of a run and a great 15  year relationship between UPtown’s and CAO.  I am glad that I was a small part of it.

One of a kind art at UPtown's

The following is a guest blog submitted by Mike A.

In 1987, I was assigned to read Megatrendsby John Naisbitt for a college class.  Originally published in 1982, the book explored and anticipated trends in business and society as we moved toward an information-based economy.  I’m sure there are many other excellent lessons to be learned from the book, but over the years the concept I’ve come back to again and again is the link between high tech and high touch.

The basic concept is that as high tech increasingly affects our lives, we seek out high touch experiences to provide balance.  High tech can be great.  Imagine all the devices and technology we use on a daily basis that didn’t exist 25 years ago.  Although I consider myself a relatively low tech guy (I still use my cell phone principally to make phone calls), I can’t imagine life without the internet, my cell phone, DVR, etc.  However, high tech can also depersonalize a lot of experiences.  E-commerce has removed personal contact from many retail transactions.  Most of us probably conduct the majority of our banking at a keyboard or in front of an ATM machine instead of with a human teller.  We send E-mail to co-workers who are in the same building.  I think the popularity of the social networking sites is probably the most obvious indicia of the desire to reach out and have a high touch experience to balance the loss of personal contact in our high tech society.

 I’m still a relative newbie to the cigar culture having only been a regular for a little over two years.  However, I’m convinced that the desire for a high touch experience to balance the high tech in our lives is a driving force behind the hobby and the culture.  I think that desire explains the hobby’s proportional prevalence of those with high tech occupations.  (I thought about doing some research on occupational demographics of cigar smokers, but didn’t want to risk messing up a good theory with facts.)

 Take, for example, a typical retail experience in the cigar hobby versus a typical retail experience in consumer electronics.  The typical cigar buying experience begins with a trip to the local cigar shop or tobacconist.  Sometimes the hobbyist will know what they want based on prior experiences or likely based on conversations with other hobbyists.  Maybe they’re undecided and seek the guidance of one of the sales associates, who are most likely hobbyists themselves.  After the purchase, the hobbyist is likely to consume their purchase on the spot in the shop’s lounge where they can unwind, maybe watch a sporting event and just generally enjoy the company of fellow enthusiasts.  On the other hand, electronics being generally high tech by nature, whatever pre-purchase research is done is likely to be via internet.  Should the purchaser choose to go E-commerce, they may well complete the entire transaction without having contact with another human being.  Otherwise, their human contact may be limited to a brief interaction with a clerk or stock person at a big box store who knows little or nothing about the product (and may care even less).  I understand that one can have essentially the same experience in buying cigars.  However, I’d suggest that if you want to buy cigars off the internet and sit on your back porch and smoke them by yourself you’re missing out on the point of the cigar culture.

 Finally, the accessability of those in the cigar industry has convinced me that this hobby of ours is the ultimate high touch experience.  Those of us who are fortunate to live in or near a city with quality brick and mortar cigar shops often have opportunities to attend events and meet those working in the cigar industry.  I know in the last two years I’ve had the opportunity to meet everyone from sales reps to company presidents to master blenders to “rock stars” of the industry to legends.  Few industries offer that kind of personal one-on-one interaction to the average consumer.

 Cigar enthusiasts refer to each other as brothers (and sisters) of the leaf.  While I’ve learned a lot about cigars from my brothers (and sisters), I’ve learned more about life.  That relationship can’t be purchased like an mp3 player.   

 See you at the shop.

 Mike A.

I have recently had the pleasure of partaking in some friendly poker games with friends.  I really enjoy these gatherings.  Some nights the cards fall my way, some nights they don’t.  Regardless, the camaraderie, food and cigars are good.

There is something very enjoyable about getting together with friends and smoking cigars. For me, I enjoy having five or six people get together and seeing what smokes they all bring.  It always runs the gamete.  Sometimes I see someone pull out a cigar that I have not tired before, or have not smoked in a while.  It always prompts me to want to try one. 

Even in the midst of our friendly card game, a good share of the conversation turns to cigars.  That is a good thing.  I encourage you to get together with friends.  Enjoy the company and enjoy a few good cigars.  It will do you good!

I will not use this blog for personal reasons very often, but this morning I felt it was necessary.  As many of you know, my father is very ill.  This past week, his condition worsened considerable.  I have been completely blown away by the support and words of encouragement I have received from my employees, UPtown’s customers and a lot of people in the cigar industry.  It really hit home with me a sales rep stopped in one day this past week and learned of what my father was going through.  Instead of giving his sales pitch to the guys who were working, he left the store.  A few minutes later he returned with a card for me and a vert heart-felt note to me.  That, coupled with all the well wishes I have received this week have made me aware that I have an extended family at UPtown’s.

My staff at UPtown’s is simply awesome.  While I was out most of this past week, business went on as usuall without a glitch.  THANK YOU GUYS!  Jeff, Jim, Marcus, Trey, Joe, Arron & Kevin…I could not ask for a better crew! 

Hope you all have a wonderfull weekend, and enjoy some fine cigars!