Episode 135 Noodles, Ashtrays and Hot Rods!!

Episode Summary

Episode 135 of A Cigar Hustler's Podcast welcomes Matt Hunt — known in the cigar world for his work with FQ Cigars — who stops by with pasta, bread and jars of sauce from his new venture, Fratelli & Company (fratellifoods.com). Matt explains how he and two friends, chef Anthony Battaglia and business/legal partner Andy Jimenez, spent roughly two years getting through FDA requirements and pH/shelf-stability testing with the University of Georgia before launching two small-batch, preservative-free sauces: an Olive (à la) Vodka and a Piccata made with real capers. The hosts eat on-mic while Matt breaks down why the brand went direct-to-consumer instead of fighting grocery slotting fees and net-120 payment terms, how the monthly subscription program works, the shared commercial kitchen in Atlanta, shipping to roughly 22 states plus Puerto Rico, and the six-month shelf life printed on every jar. Listeners get a 10% promo code (CIGARHUSTLER10) and a giveaway for a mixed two-jar pack via Fratelli Foods on Instagram.

The second half turns to cigar industry news. The crew marks the closing of Bellicoso Cigars on Mills & 50 in Orlando — another COVID-era casualty — and vents about ATF shutting down their beer and wine sales while other retailers keep selling liquor. They cover Scandinavian Tobacco Group (parent of General Cigar, Cigars International, Thompson Cigar and Agio) raising its 2020 financial guidance on the strength of at-home cigar consumption, with 4.9% net sales revenue growth and 21% EBITDA growth ahead of Q2 results. They also send a happy 10-year anniversary to Cigar Coop, naming Patrick Lagreid's outlet Listener of the Week and thanking it as their main news source.

Rounding things out: a Room 101 giveaway in which Matt Booth donated a large, roughly $300-value ashtray — entries via email subscription and qualifying Room 101 purchases through mid-September — plus shoutouts to Drew of Refined Southerner for the show's custom shirts and hats, a mention of meeting him at Adam Dorado's Foundation Cigar shop in Gainesville, Georgia, and Pierce Hot Rods (Mike's dream of shipping his Charger there). The episode wanders through AMC's 15-cent reopening tickets, Time's worst inventions list, a Tampa Bay Rowdies stadium squatter story, and TV talk (The Boys, Peaky Blinders, Project Power), before teasing a blind unbanded "secret cigar" review for Patreon supporters.

In This Episode

1. 01
   Fratelli & Company launch
   Matt Hunt of FQ Cigars introduces his new direct-to-consumer pasta sauce brand and its two flavors, Olive Vodka and Piccata.
2. 02
   Two years of FDA, pH testing and shelf stability
   How the team worked with the University of Georgia to hit food-safety specs and land a six-month, preservative-free shelf life.
3. 03
   Why direct-to-consumer instead of grocery shelves
   Slotting fees, net-120 payment terms and brand control pushed the trio toward e-commerce, subscriptions and small-batch cooking in a shared Atlanta kitchen.
4. 04
   Giveaway and promo code
   Follow Fratelli Foods on Instagram and tag two friends with #CigarHustlerPodcast to win a mixed two-jar pack; listeners get 10% off with code CIGARHUSTLER10.
5. 05
   Bellicoso Cigars closes in Orlando
   The hosts mourn the Mills & 50 cigar bar's last Saturday and discuss lease negotiations, smoking restrictions and local beer and wine sales being shut down.
6. 06
   STG raises 2020 guidance
   Scandinavian Tobacco Group reports more at-home cigar smoking, 4.9% net sales revenue growth and 21% EBITDA growth ahead of Q2 results.
7. 07
   Cigar Coop's 10-year anniversary
   The show congratulates Cigar Coop on a decade of cigar media and names it Listener of the Week.
8. 08
   Matt Booth ashtray giveaway and hot rods
   Room 101's Matt Booth donated a large ashtray for an in-store and online giveaway, plus shoutouts to Refined Southerner and Pierce Hot Rods.

Brands & Cigars Discussed

Linked items are in our shop. Mentions without a link aren’t currently stocked or couldn’t be matched with confidence.

Transcript

Welcome to a Cigar Hustlers Podcast, the number one cigar-related show on Podbean, and now, Player FM. This week, episode 135, Noodles, Ashtrays, and Hot Rods. All this, on episode 135. All right, no, he's upset.

Stop. Episode 135 of the Cigar Hustler Podcast. This week, we have Mr. Matt Hunt with Fratelli Sauce.

Would that be correct? I don't know. That's right. Fratelli & Company.

Fratelli & Company. But is it sauce? Is that how we say it? It is.

It's pasta sauces. Oh, pasta sauces. That would be correct. Pasta sauce.

All right. Everybody knows Matt. He's from FQ Cigars. He is.

That's right. So this is a… He's not on the mic again. Yes. Yes, that's correct.

This is his, not a side hustle, but another… This is his passion. Yeah, it's a new venture with some buddies. Yeah. Where's the name for Telly?

He loves the sauce. So it ended up that two of my buddies that we were just kind of hanging out, smoking cigars, and having drinks, and trying to figure out a new industry, because one of the partners, he's a chef, and then the other one was more of a legal guy. Okay, so there's a chef involved. There is a chef involved.

There is a token Italian that is involved. So, we do have some legitimacy. " Like, I guess, sauce industry people? Cigar industry people, actually.

Oh, cigar industry people. " Oh, did Fratello cigars try to make any connection? They did not. They did not reach out.

Because it sounds very familiar. It does sound very familiar. But so Fratelli just means brothers in Italian. Oh, okay.

And so that was kind of our little thing, just because obviously we're in our blood. Is your brother involved? They are not. No, they are not.

No brothers? No brothers. It's just three really good friends. I thought I saw one of them in a photo.

My mistake. No, that might be Andy. We kind of share a resemblance. Okay.

But yeah, so we've been working on this for about two years, trying to actually get through the FDA and all that kind of stuff. Which, of course, for the cigar business, we kind of know how annoying that can be, but yeah, just really working with the University of Georgia, trying to get everything tested, making sure that all the pHs are where they need to be, and all that stuff, and finally got it to market, finally got an e-commerce site available, and just wanted to come in. Let's see the jars, it comes in two flavors, as I understand it? It does, so right now we actually have a Piccata, and we have an Olive Vodka, so here's that, how's that looking over there?

Oh, fancy. Yeah. What's an A? Very exciting.

Yeah, which one are we trying? Well, the red one, obviously. We are. So, we're trying the olive vodka.

So, that's one, 'cause I talked to... And you cooked this? What? I did not.

This is actually the first few batches are actually the other two partners that they're up in Georgia. I'm talking about the pasta. The pasta, I did. Yes, I did.

I prepped it. I brought my own stuff except for my extension cord. Did you spit mine? I did not.

I did not spit in yours. Are you regretting that now? No, no. It's just love.

It's all love in that bowl. Well, food is love. Food is love. Fooders love this is what they say.

That's nice. Yeah. So, you guys can try it. Move your bottle because it's taken away from your sauce.

Sounds good. There you go. How's it look now? There you go.

Now it looks much better. Also, we got some bread in case you want to dip. Oh. Is this homemade bread?

That is not homemade bread. I tried my best to heat it up at the house and then keep it warm. Did you steal it from macaroni grill? I did not.

Looks like macaroni grill. Should be a little crunchy, a little crispy on the outside, a little soft on the inside, maybe the inner workings. There it is, a little crunchy. It's so crunchy.

That sounds nice. Mmm. And I do appreciate you eating it because I know that you might not. Of course.

Yeah? I'm here for you. All the time. I'm willing to make those sacrifices.

It's like a picnic. I love you, Matt. Picnic. I know you might not feel that way right now, but I do.

Yeah, it's weird. Don't load up on the bread, Michael. Eat the sauce. Yeah, try the pasta.

It's a Fratelli bread because the bread's delicious. So yeah, so literally just the pasta and then our sauce. Put a little Italian parsley on there. A little Parmesan.

That is good. So while we're eating, tell them about the sauce. Okay, so the sauce is the big two things like for us is that like what can we do something different than everybody else and the big thing was going direct to consumer, so that's what we're doing. Having a chef is obviously ideal just because you get that super top-notch quality, not really trying to cut any corners.

That's actually really good. What are the nutritional facts in this entire meal? I have to get back to you on that. And I can tell you that per serving, it's 150 calories per serving for this aloe vodka, which is pretty good.

Just a little bit of light cream. Can you see the jar? Absolutely. With the prosciutto.

The Beer Belly Bikers bought some already. Yeah, he did? He did. What a good guy.

Yeah. No, he's not. He's evil. Okay.

But there it is. I still love him though. But yeah, so I mean, our big thing is also like no preservatives, because we were just trying to make the very best, something that you would serve immediately, not something they're going to sit on for seven years, and hopefully, They definitely have in case there's an apocalypse. So this is more something to be served.

When you get it, something that's like a nice date night. It's good. It's hard to eat with a microphone. It is.

It is. It is hard to eat, but it was very good. Oh, you already gave up? Yeah, a little bit of spice.

I didn't get any spice. I feel like we're doing a fucking... I know we're doing a cigar review. Yeah, I didn't get any of that.

I give it one star. One star for taste. That's the highest you can get. Okay, I was about to say.

Wow, that's... It's either star or no star with us. I like that. Either you like, either you don't.

com, F-R-A-T-E-L-L-I, it's two L's? Yes, sir. com for recipes. Yep, for all the recipes, we've got a little bit of...

It's bulking season. It is bulking season. And this is one thing that we've actually had people who have talked to us, that they actually said that Ala Vodka has pretty cool macros that it's not something that's going to completely knock them off. The piccata, not as much.

It's a little bit, a little bit heavier, I would have never guessed that. Which is funny, because I mean, like for me, I was not a huge piccata guy beforehand, but then once we started kind of getting in the kitchen and trying different things and working on it, like it's actually silky, light, something that you can literally put on pasta. A big thing with our piccata is that it's not something you're going to find on every store shelf, right? Okay, so now I have a question.

What's up? So now that you're involved with the sauces. Yeah. And that you have two flavors here, but you're gravitating towards the piccata?

Uh, no, actually, I gravitate towards the olive vodka, but then this piccata has actually been something that I've thrown into the rotation. So it's not like a heavy Alfredo type sauce. It is not, which is awesome, especially because it has, uh... Oh, see, now I wish I would have chosen that one when you gave me the option.

So, I mean, awesome with seafood, it's another, like, you can even just put it over angel hair pasta and just eat that, 'cause this one actually has capers, which is the big thing for us that's a little bit different, 'cause a lot of times these bigger, they'll just use, these bigger companies, they'll use co-packers and literally just, like, emulsify it and make it into a liquid and spout it out through an eighth of an inch spout. Whereas this, everything that we're doing, handmade, small batch, literally our guys in a kitchen. So your chef oversees all production? Correct, yeah.

And that's, I mean, that's the reason why with our piccata you actually have capers in it, right? That's why a lot of these other guys, they're not putting it on the shelves, they're actually, it's because they can't get the capers to that little hole. And so that's, that's the big thing. The jam's a machine, I guess, yeah.

Exactly. So that's kind of the big thing with our piccata is that it's real, it's authentic, still no preservatives. I don't feel like you're committed, Mike. You're not, you haven't really eaten the whole...

You've got to eat the whole thing? I've actually been impressed with money, Mike. I'm trying to interact with the guests and ask a lot of questions. I had a question, but you guys poo-pooed it.

I just kept going. You guys have a commercial kitchen in Atlanta set up? We do, yeah. So, we're actually using PrEP, which is shared by like a hundred different businesses.

And so, as we grow, they have the facilities for us to be able to grow them, to help us grow at the same time. And so right now, still the other two partners are going and doing the cooks every time we need inventory, and yeah, right now I think we're about like 22 states, we got shipments going to Puerto Rico, yeah, so just slowly but surely, trying to work on that marketing, trying to work on the PR, reaching out to different people to get the stuff out there. I apologize, you might have already mentioned this, but why did you go direct to consumer instead of trying to put it into a retail, other than the grocery stores are a pain in the ass to deal with? Correct.

I mean, that was like the biggest thing was we were wanting to, obviously we have Anthony who's a, Anthony Battaglia is going to be the chef, Andy Jimenez is our legal and business and everything administrative partner, but Anthony, the big thing is like you make greats, tosses, sometimes it's a little bit difficult to make it so scalable and try and work with these grocery stores. Oh, they turn your slotting fees. Exactly. And then also like the 90, the 120 net to figure out how long you're going to get paid, stuff like that.

Whereas this, we control every facet of the branding, the customer experience, the, I mean, everything. And that was important to us, just because this is a little bit different, right? It's a little bit on the higher end of a product, it's something that we're trying to focus on the, like we actually have a subscription service, which you can actually get. Oh, there is a subscription service.

Correct, yeah. So right now we have it so that you can either select one jar or two jars or a mixed pack or whatever the case may be, once per month, and you get an extra 5% off of said package. It's a package. Is that a package?

Are there a lot of sauces that sell that way? None that we know of. Really? I mean, that was a big thing for us was that we were going direct to consumer and kind of make it, instead of it looking like everybody else's, where it was the-- Breaking the mold.

Exactly. Just because it has like all the vegetables and all that kind of stuff on the jar, we want to do something a little bit different, that black label aesthetic. You're like the Amazon of pasta. We are for right now.

You're the Jeff Bezos. I mean, I got the Cuban part down, I just don't have the $170 billion. He's Cuban? He is.

Hmm. I didn't know that. That's where you decide you're Italian now. Yeah.

I thought, yeah. Hunt-a-rolly or something? I think we should stick with that one. Mata-gabagula.

Mata-gabagula. Can I have a swarthy look? You could pass. Yeah.

I mean, I've been told that that's, I got that ethnically ambiguous. I think you should get like the Italian flag tattoo on your arm or something. You know what's actually nice is the Italian partner, he actually has a stallion on his stomach. So that's great.

I feel like you should get matching ones. We should all get it? Should I get it? Oh, we should all get it.

I'll have to bring that up at the next meeting. Yeah, that'd be fantastic. Hey, I'd like to propose a tattoo for all of us. Sort of like this one for the show that only I have.

That's just more, we've already visited that. Yes, he tried to tell me I wasn't committed. Was that before the tattoo? No, no, that was last week.

It was like two weeks ago. And once you countered back, I was like, yeah, I got nothing on that. You win, you win, you win the tattoo. Okay, all right, fine.

Well, and something that we were talking about before the show is giving everybody who's listening 10% off a promo, so you're going to use Cigar Hustler 10 at checkout, and it's going to be a little promo code so you can get 10% off whatever you order. Total sale. I was asked if it goes well on vegetables because there's a listener that doesn't eat pasta anymore because of his dietary restrictions. Really?

It goes delicious on everything. Honestly, we've had people who have actually, as soon as they got it, they said that they start trying to cook and stuff. I got it. There you go.

There it is. Oh, there he is. There he is. Hey, man.

As they started cooking and stuff like that, before they could even get started, they'd start dipping, whether it be vegetables, bread, whatever the case may be, and they're like, yeah, we're gonna need to order some more jars. I'm big on that with the bread in it. Oh, my gosh. That was one of the first things.

We did a photo shoot up in Blue Ridge, Georgia, and honestly, I was just so hungry that I ended up just getting the rigatoni and just dipping it. I'm eating here. You're blowing smoke. Just dipping.

Is that a problem? I didn't blow smoke at you while you were enjoying your food. Would I have been upset? I wouldn't have.

And so this is why we don't have smoking in restaurants anymore. So this is the problem? I just ate my pasta. Well, I was talking to the guest.

I'm very full. What do we do after? That's the best. You eat, you smoke.

Alright, you go ahead. You go ahead, Mike. No, no, it's your day. Apparently it's definitely not my day.

But yeah, so we got that and then we're going to try and do that giveaway. Yes, look at the camera there and explain the giveaway. Hi, you're going to do the Fratelli Cigar Hustler podcast. The Fratelli Cigar Hustler Podcast Giveaway is going to be, go to Fratelli Foods on Instagram, you're going to press follow and then after- I'm blowing my smoke totally fine.

And make sure that you actually make a comment and you're going to tag two friends and hashtag CigarHustlerPodcast. Okay, that was just a little because you were ooey to nine. I'm sorry. He was impressed the whole time.

You go to Fratelli Foods on Instagram. Fratelli Foods on Instagram. You have to follow. Yep, you have to follow and tag two friends.

And then #CigarHustlerPodcast. That's right. And then they will win a pair of sauces. That's right, you're going to win a mixed pack, a mixed pack of our two sauces.

Yes. But just two? Correct. Okay, so one of each.

Correct, yeah. Yeah, so it's going to be one of each, and then wherever you live, we're going to send it to you. Free of charge. Free of charge.

Shipping is included. We're not eligible. We're not? No.

Goddammit. No, we're not eligible. What if they're not in the United States? Oh, this is the United States only?

This is the United States only. United States only. Unless Puerto Rico. Puerto Rico, it is a commonwealth, but...

Not including Puerto Rico? It is including Puerto Rico. Oh, it is? Everything outside of those, that might be kinda tough.

Hawaii? Let's keep it continental. Oh, continental. Alright, cool.

Maybe just a tri-state area. So then just not Alaska either, then that's all? That might be out. Yeah.

Out of our jurisdiction. Alright. Yeah. California's okay?

California's great. Yeah. It's okay. Yeah, it's okay.

We can handle that part. Yeah, all right. Okay. So, what's involved in being able to ship, other than just the FDA?

Is that all you had to get? Yes. I mean, the biggest thing was just making sure that the pHs are exactly where they need to be, because dealing with all these different ingredients, that's one thing. Like, oh, we have to add lemon juice.

We have to add this. We have to bring it down, because the big thing is you want to make sure it's shelf-stable and that somebody can have it at their house and they're not going to die when they open it. Is there a shelf life that you have to comply to? So six months.

Six months. Yeah. And that's at the bottom of every single jar. So you'll know.

So say if you do put it in your shelf. Not those. Those are going to be... Oh, these are demo boxes.

Correct. Oh, no, no. Oh, no. Look at that.

It's 02-2021. There you go. You can save it for Valentine's Day. 02.

Cutting it close. Hey, they didn't say which one. They didn't say which day in February. Which day in February.

Honey, we're going to eat this. Just be careful. Fingers crossed. Those are red on the wrapper.

Excuse me? Pretty new. Well, February. This is August.

Thank you for contributing. Go back to smoking over there. Thanks. Do you guys have a favorite meal that you like to smoke after?

All. Every single one? All. Yeah, at least not.

Michael, you got anything? Food? Yeah. Is there any one that you're like, "I have to have a cigar after this one"?

No, not really. No? Just all of them? You're an old guy, Tim.

It just depends. I mean, it's, you know, if I'm in the shop and I ate, I don't like to smoke. Yeah, of course. If I'm in Esteli and we, you know, it's kind of, you know, just bust it out.

You eat and you smoke. Was there anything that you like to make at home? And then you're like, man, I can't wait for a cigar after this? Uh, steak.

Yeah. Something I saw the other day was just straight up, just a poached egg on top of a steak. I think I could eat that every day. Oh, that sounds delicious.

It's like the best. Yeah. That's nice. It's just additional fat though.

But it's delicious. Saturated fat on saturated fat. It's okay. Is it?

I'm a part of a pasta sauce company, so I think... Well, that was going to be my question before, but you didn't, you know... Oh, is that your question? Yeah.

Am I concerned about my health? You guys deviated off. I was going to say, now that you're involved here, how much weight do you think you're going to gain? I can only hope a lot because I don't trust somebody who's selling food and they're skinny.

Oh, you think so? Oh, really? There's that line, you never trust a skinny chef. Exactly.

But you're not the chef. That's right. So I guess I'm not allowed to gain any? Is your chef Portly?

He's trustworthy. Is that a good way to describe it? Sure. That's very nice.

He's trustworthy. There it is. So that's it. Nice way of saying he's fat.

Are you going to bulk up a little bit? I don't think so. I think I'm going to try my best. Are you going to stay lean?

I'll stay whatever this is. Okay. I don't know if we'd call this lean, per se, but... All right.

That's cool. Does that mean are you going to try and keep Fratelli out once a month, or are you going to think you're going to start eating Fratelli? I mean, I don't know. Yeah, I'll support you, of course, you know.

I'll buy a couple jars. Appreciate it. If anything, do you think that this would make you come to the house? I mean, probably not.

He never goes out. I know, man. I have a fucking infant at home. Wait, we've been friends.

I was about to say. Coronavirus. He's going down. There's a lot going on.

I think he's been to my house twice. It's okay. I'll bring it over just a second. I've dropped you off more than twice.

I'll just bring it over just so I can make it for Britney. Okay, that's nice. I think it'll be nice. There you go.

See, that's the weird thing about him. He won't go anywhere, but everybody's invited to the house. Yeah. Are they invited, or is it an open invitation?

Because I feel like that invitation is limited. Yeah. Okay, you got me there. Yeah, I mean, there are, you know, yeah.

There's a few people that are allowed to the house. I would say that number is probably like 15, 20 people that, you know, You know, I have no problem coming over at any time, and that's it, man. Nice. You know?

Mike Palmer, do you eat a lot of pasta at your house? No, we don't do a lot of Italian. No? No.

I thought you were Italian. No, I'm Irish. You're Irish? Mick Palmer?

Mike Mick Palmer? Yes. Nice. Scotch-Irish.

Good for you. Scotch-Irish. That's all the drinking. Ah.

Well, it's funny. I never really ate a lot of pasta either, but then after this... Well, now you're in the business, so... It's honestly, like I always just say, it's research and development all the time, so I'm like, I'm just doing quality control.

They say, like, a guy who works at a pizza shop, when he gets home, does want to eat pizza, so have you gotten to the point where you're-- I haven't gotten there yet, because this is still new, right? So like, even when people come over, if I'm not feeling like cooking a ton of stuff, I know this will knock people's socks off, and it's easy to just be like, well, I'll just go boil some pasta. Just open a jar? Yep.

So it's super, super easy. I mean, that was the big thing for us, is that we didn't want you to have to add anything to it, and it's just delicious out of the jar. How many jars do you think you have at your house? Ooh.

Let's see. Wait, did the old cigar room turn into a jar room? To a pasta-aging room? A pasta-aging room?

No. Actually, I would say, not that many, actually. Because every time I get any, I try and make it for anybody I can. Gotcha.

Well, the more people that try it, the more people that'll buy it. Exactly. And so we're actually in talks right now to try and do some tastings here and there. Obviously great for content creation, but also the more people that try it, the more people that'll kind of...

Right. What kind of places would you do a tasting? Because normally those are like, you know, higher end retail establishments and, you know, the little flavor lady that, you know, like a costume or something. Yeah, give like little spoons and stuff like that.

Yeah, right. So, I mean, where do you guys go since you're online? So, this is going to be a little bit more on the intimate side. So, it's actually going to be at people's houses and things like that.

Oh, sort of like the party, the candle parties. Exactly, but it's going to be pasta sauce. So, yeah. So, it'll be pretty good.

You guys thought about doing like utensils to go along with it? We thought about a few things and like doing some apparel here and there and right now we're just focusing on the two products. Oh, you need to do those hats. Big white hats.

Oh yeah, just so people can wear them out. I would wear one when I cooked at home. Yeah, oh yeah? Doesn't matter if you were making pasta or not?

Nope. Nope, just all the time. I'd wear it by the grill, everything. I do like that.

Hmm. I'll have to think about that. Buy five jars, get a hat. I'm surprised you didn't put your apron on.

I thought for sure you were going to... You know, the cords are a little short right here. A little tight over there in the corner? Yeah, they're a little tight over here in the corner.

I'm a little claustrophobic like it is, so you know, I'm trapped. I get that. Buy five jars, get a spatula? Oh, I had.

I know. So we're actually thinking, we had something that I was talking to the guys about, trying to do some sort of referral service, or referral program. You know what I mean? Because that's something, like, you're trying to get.

Oh, Gwyn had mentioned my, you know, they put in my name, or his name, or something. Exactly, yeah. Or even like a, because I have no different, like, email services and stuff like that, that literally they give you a URL, and if people buy under that URL. Oh yeah, Amazon actually does that.

Yeah, exactly. So think about something like that just to kind of create that community and the whole thing, 'cause like our big thing is like the Sauce Mafia, right? So that's, I know you guys got your Hustler Mafia. I feel they're not gonna sell it, Michael.

You know what's funny? I wish it was my idea, and it made me so upset when somebody texted it to me, I'm like... Was it the Italian guy? It was not.

It was actually the same guy that helped me design the proper labels, Josh Sweet. Helped a brother out, and he was like, "Yo, that looks great. " And I was like, I got so mad. As soon as I saw the text message, I was like, ah.

Write that down, write that down. Yeah, so we started using that as the hashtag and started pushing it out, and the reviews have been pretty good, so we're just going to keep on selling sauce. Very good. It was delicious.

Mm-hmm. I like it. Do you think that, uh, do you think you guys will make pasta more often now? We don't eat a lot of pasta.

No? That's unfortunate. No. Well, uh, my wife's husband before me, they had a large family, they had spaghetti once a week because they had like eight kids.

Yeah. So, we don't do spaghetti very often. We don't do Kentucky Fried Chicken, nothing that can be bought in bulk and served to a lot of children at one time, we don't do that anymore. Oh, wow.

There's certain things. I hear that. So, like once a month I can talk around a spaghetti, because I enjoy spaghetti, so. I appreciate that.

And now we'll enjoy it. We'll see, thank you very much. Yeah. I appreciate it in the white, because you said it's not an alfredo, so it's not a heavy sauce.

It is not, it's not a heavy sauce. Yeah. Hmm, interesting. Interesting.

What do you got? I mean, yeah, I don't really eat a lot of pasta, but you know, I'll consider bathing in it for you. I appreciate that. Yeah.

I'm hoping that the listeners, they'll get into it, right? Yeah. It's gotta be good for the skin. Oh, no, for sure.

I mean, look at how brown it is. Look at that. Look at how tan he is, he uses tanning. I use fratelli.

Stop. Stop. Stop right now. You're going off the rails.

Going off the rails. So what else has been good with you guys? What else do you have on the show? We go to break in about eight minutes, and then we come back and we'll do the news, and we've got a phone call, I believe, to me.

Yeah. We're going to call somebody. We're going to call somebody. We normally call Danny and see if he'll answer the phone and then Barry's just hang up.

Just constantly? Yeah, him or Jack Taranya, we call Jack a lot too. That's nice. Yeah, we should call Sean.

Sean? Coleman. Oh, lightweight, we call him lightweight-heavy. Oh, lightweight-heavy, I get that.

He's very busy. Is he? He runs that whole operation. I love that.

He's the man. He does video. You don't see his videos? He does videos all the time.

I do. Well, you know what I see is that he's working hard. He's getting that work in. Yeah.

What was that? Was I knocking on the door or was it you? It's me. Don't break the tent.

His bicycle broke the other day. Have you guys ever ordered any? Whose? Shawn.

Shawn's Bicycle Bar. Oh, geez. That's not good. No.

I was very upset. Should I get that lighter? Sure. I was busy preparing.

Where's your lighter? I was busy preparing. I brought so many things. You forgot your lighter.

I did. We've had this conversation. Yeah. More than once.

What was the last thing you guys bought from the internet? This whole e-commerce thing is new to me. is new to me. Amazon comes to my house with at least ones a week.

At least. With just Nick Max? Whatever we have. I don't know.

It could be different things. Who knows? See something on TV? I need that.

We got some just the other day. I don't remember what it was. That's how often the guy comes. Yeah.

Just buddies. Well, the same UPS guy delivers here that delivers to my house. Ah. So, he already knows me.

Back when it was Dave, but now there's random people. Anything? What was your last purchase? He just got an order today here.

Yeah, what'd you get? I got screen mounting brackets. Ooh. Oh, we got a new lens for the camera?

Got a camera lens. That was eBay though. But this isn't the new camera that you would tell me you wanted to get. No.

No, no, that's the same camera we always have. We probably won't get that one either. We're just gonna get a step up from this one. Gotcha.

We've outgrown this camera. It's official. It's official. Three years.

I mean, you guys got a light ring, which I know that that's like, that's the next level. And that's actually wrong too. Well, we have that light in the corner that we used when we were downstairs. It was actually a different light.

And the room was much, much bigger. Yeah. But that room now looks like we're trying to tan if we turn it on. Yeah.

There's a different light we should get. Do you like what you're saying because this one's softer or is this too soft? Or what's the issue with this one? Oh, it has different settings, different colors, but that's more a selfie TikTok.

That's what I saw. I thought you guys were becoming influencers. No. No?

We're influencers. Now we're sauce influencers. Oh, yeah. Yeah.

You guys are getting into the food game. You went into the food game. You didn't know. Yeah, it's crazy.

I have the BAM guy coming on next week. The BAM guy? The guy that goes BAM! Oh.

He throws his stuff in. Emeril? Emeril, that's his name. That's my favorite thing that you just forgot who Emeril Lagasse was.

I forgot his name. I'm not in the food industry. It's okay. I know.

That's super well-versed, you should see. I'm sure. I'm sure you are. Something that's actually cool that we're planning on doing something with a fellow that's actually friends with Anthony.

The guy was just on Master Chef, and he got fourth police. Is that still on? Yeah. So we're trying to get something done with him around Labor Day, trying to get some stuff done.

Oh. Yeah. With masks? Of course.

We're always going to be CDC-aligned. CDC-aligned. Yeah. Excellent.

No hats, but a mask. Has anybody made any comments about us not wearing masks? Or you guys not wearing masks? Well, you're six feet away from me.

Not me. When it first started, we moved him to that far end of the table, and I sat at this end, and we wore a mask. com backslash the cigar house or podcast. I think I need that just to make everything match better.

I have to wear a blue one. It's a very bright blue. It doesn't necessarily go with any on something. Why is it blue?

I don't know. Somebody gave it to me. That's what I've been wearing. Also, I've been told that it sprays matter at people, so I shouldn't wear it anymore.

It's one of those polyester ones, they're like, it's negative, that's actually not protecting you from anything. No, that does, that breaks up the particles even more and creates a mist. Yeah. So it's one of those muff things.

Yeah. Those are bad. That's why I didn't wear it inside, because it made me self-conscious. Oh.

I'm so sorry. Didn't want to kill anybody, you know? That's nice. Oh, that's your microphone too.

It's very thoughtful. I'll try my best. I got lice all over there. Spit a lot when you talk if you want.

Me? No way. All right, we're going to take a break, and then we'll be right back. All right.

Hey, it's Mike Toon with the Cigar Hustlers Podcast. Looking for high quality swag from the show? com/theCigarHustlerPodcast. We have everything from t-shirts and hats to phone cases and beach styles.

com/theCigarHustlersPodcast. Get your show swag and become a true hustler. Alright, episode 135 of Cigar Hustler Podcast, the number one cigar show on Podbean and Player FM now. Yes, number one show on two different ones.

Took another one. And we've moved up three notches on iHeart, which is our newest distributor. Hey, we're up to 66. Number one on something.

I talked to Matt Cade from the Tuesday Night Cigar Club. Oh yeah, he plays Sonora the other day. Yeah, that was how we had a nice back and forth. Yes.

Very, very gentle. So I told him that, you know, he makes an annual purchase for limiteds once a year. He's like, "Hey, you got a promo code? " The one order a year you make?

" And he's like, "I don't care. I don't care. I don't even know what that is. I'm like, okay.

Take a poo-poo all over us. They're a big video thing. They are. Yeah, so they're on YouTube.

They do like, yeah, yeah, they're YouTube followers. But their show is like four hours long or something. It's commitment. Yeah.

Can't do it. It's like a damn Lord of the Rings movie. It's true. But they like watch a whole movie.

But they watch Lord of the Rings and then talk about it. Yeah. You're there watching the movie with him? I don't, I guess.

I don't know. I've never, well you were on it one time. Yeah. And I didn't even.

Did you watch a movie? I didn't even watch that. And then talked about it. I think so.

And then do they cut in bits of pieces? I don't know. Wait, wait, wait. It's like a three-hour show.

No joking. It's like a three, four-hour show or something. Yeah. So the movie's not in that part?

I don't think so. I feel like copyright would be tough in that. Yeah, I was gonna say, they probably can't. But how do you talk four hours about a movie?

I just drink a lot. So by the end of the thing, nobody can talk? Sometimes Matt can't, which is nice. Not that Matt.

No. That Matt can always talk. He's been in my house. Oh, no, actually, he was singing.

I couldn't talk. Yeah. That's the way he was. That's when, what were we all trying to...

Periscope. Periscope was a thing. Periscope was a thing. You were singing "Mac the Night" into the Periscope.

That's right. "Mac the Knife", not "The Night". Oh, "Mac the Night" was the McDonald's commercial. Oh, could be.

"Mac Tonight"? No, "Mac the Night". Was he the moon guy? The moon guy.

Dinner at McDonald's? Tell him Big Macs. I've really gone off the rails here. Was this the chit-chat portion that you guys were talking about?

We just ate, so I'm just all relaxed and full. It's weird looking at you like this. I know it is. I'm hurting my neck.

I'm just going to look at Matt. This is nice. Yeah, I'm going to look like, I'm going to stand like this and want to make, I'm going to just going to-- Look at the camera the whole thing? Yeah, and I'm going to respond to you guys.

It's like a Zoom for me. It's like a Zoom. Oh, personal Zoom. Yeah.

So, hey, let's talk about what's going on. Bellicoso Cigars over on Mills and 50 closed this weekend. Yeah! Another COVID death.

Another one bites of dust. Josh, we, you know... We're sorry, Josh and CJ. It's tough out there, man.

You know? As I understand it, they might come back when this is all over, but trying to negotiate through the different... Leases and whatnot. Clothes, no clothes, hours of operation, whatever, so they just liquidated as much as possible.

It's tough. It's very tough. No, Saturday was their last day. Yeah.

So. So. Did you go that night, uh, Greg and I went? Were you the third guy?

Uh, I was not. Oh no, it was Dr. Steve. That's who it was.

He was the other guy. I was thinking it was you. No. Tall, dark-haired man.

You all look the same to me. I get that. Yeah. So, you wanted to say about the other guy?

Yeah, you know, just wishing the best and, um, it's unfortunate that it's happened and, you know, uh, you know, hopefully they'll come back. Well, with their operation, they were a restaurant and bar that sold cigars. You could only smoke upstairs or out on the patio. Correct.

Yeah, you cannot smoke in the food area. That's tough. So now that we're all depressed. Well, I mean, you know, it's hard.

You know, ATF rolled in here and shut us down for beer and wine. But meanwhile, other retail stores can sell liquor. I don't understand it. I don't, you know, I don't get it.

But here we are. it was right there who knows I stole my lighter he's in the industry, he should have his own lighter I'm telling you, people will see it later on I bought a whole bunch of stuff I bought practically a stove can you light your cigar on that stove? just give me a minute, I'll run to the kitchen STG says more people are smoking at home and it upgrades the financial guidance Scandinavian Tobacco Group the parent company of General Cigar Company The company, Cigars International, Thompson Cigar, and Agio and others has announced that it is upgrading its financial guidance for 2020 as more people are smoking cigars despite the corona COVID-19 pandemic. The company made the announcement ahead of its second quarter results, which will be announced on August 28th.

Yeah, because people were at home, but now they're not at home anymore, right? For the most part. For the most part, yes. Yeah, but do you think that people are still, like, they're going out, but then, say, for when it comes to, like, smoking cigars or having a cocktail or something like that, instead of where they used to, like, be attuned to, like, oh, going out.

They'll still do that, like, nightcap, or they'll still do that... At the end of the night when they get home? Yeah, they're still probably doing that at the house. Yeah, but the difference was that, you know, for a segment there, they weren't walking into a store.

Correct, yeah. Now they are. But do you, like, a store as in, like, a cigar store? Yeah.

All stores. Mm-hmm. So do you think that, have you guys found that, like, here, like, people kind of still have the same flow or that it's picking back up, but then they're still carrying out? Uh, well, yeah, I mean, we have no beer.

Right. Well, our lounge is open, but, I mean- You can't drink. You can't drink. So, because of that- Our carryout sales, I think, had gone back up.

It had gone back off because we were open for a while, and now we're closed again. Damn it. I forgot something. Uh-oh.

Do we need to take another break? No, you guys keep talking. I'll be right back. All right.

9 growth in net sale revenue and 21% growth in EBITDA. I don't know what that is. I have no idea what that is. Can we call your financial guy?

I'm sure we can get it. Ebena? Yes. It upgraded its 2020 guidance.

There's just a bunch of stuff, but we don't know where he went. All right, we'd like to wish a happy anniversary to Cigar Coop. Hey. August 15, 2020 marks the 10-year anniversary of Cigar Coop being on the air and with his blog.

Wow, 10 years. There were people who told him in the first 90 days he would never make it. I guess he's laughing at them now. There were times he doubted it himself, but 10 years later, he has, oh, damn ink went out.

He has a- Just make it up. Just make up the number. Here he is. In the next 10 weeks, he has reflected on 10 years of the history of Cigar Coop.

com, you can click on, he's got 10 years of recaps, I guess you want to say. Wow, yeah, I love that. Highlights. Highlights.

Highlights. There it is. Highlights. And he's put music to some of them.

Only to some of them? Maybe all of them, I don't know. Other ones you gotta just hit the sit and silence. Well, yes, because he now does a similar to Cigar Jukebox.

I'm waiting on the camera just to move as he hits it. Earthquake! Ah. I'm really, you know, I really thought the light would fall.

We just wish a happy 10 year anniversary to Cigar Coop. Oh. Happy anniversary, Coop. There you go.

10 years, no parole. Yes. It started with a coffee. People said in the first 90 days, he would not make it.

Who said that? People. It says people. Also when they said you won't make it, make it to what?

He wouldn't keep on. Oh, wow. So he persevered. I think it's a tough thing to do.

It is, yeah. Oh, wow. It's a thankless job. Except we thank him.

Yes, we thank him. Because if not, we wouldn't have any information on Cigar Media. Yes, we get most of our news information from Cigar Co. So...

Oh, Jesus. So we're doing a giveaway. Oh, yes, a giveaway. At the shop.

Oh. And online. And online, yes. Yes, with our friend Matt Booth.

I went out and I reached out to my friend Matt. He sponsors a different show. The other Matt. He does?

Yes. The Matt Booth. Well, we don't take cigar people. I know.

I love that. I love that about this. I can be bought so easily. Yeah.

No, you can't. No, you can't. Uh-uh. As 50% owner, no, you can't.

I got four cases of sauce out in my car for this. That doesn't surprise me. Anyway, we're doing a giveaway. So Matt did this snappy video about this badass ashtray with his son, and they did this epic high-five at the end, which I loved, it was fucking hilarious, yeah, we could totally do it, we should do a video, we'll have to sanitize afterwards, we should do the exact same video, you be a member, I'll be a son, and there's a promotional video for the giveaway, that's a great idea, so, I'll even sit on the table and look at your son.

So, I reached out to Matt, and he was so gracious enough to give us an ashtray. It's a gigantic ashtray. It's a big, beautiful ashtray. Can you see that?

How does that look? It looks good. How much does that weigh? 700 pounds.

That is a big ashtray. Don't let it fall out. It's actually lighter than you'd think. But yeah, so we're giving away this...

I'm so nervous it's gonna fall out of the box. I got it, I'm holding it. Oh, you're holding on your side. Oh yeah, I see.

So we're giving away this ashtray in store and online for online sales. You can subscribe to the email for a free entry, and then specific purchases of Room 101 product for the rest of the month, you'll get in. You could win. This is your chance.

When's the deadline? Your time to shine. I don't know. I know that it's a little bit into September.

I think the 18th. Sounds good. I think it was the 18th. It sounds firm.

Yes. So yeah, I mean, I'm just excited about this. You know what? It should have been the 24th.

It could have been my birthday. Oh, the 19th. It could have been my birthday. Oh.

It's almost his birthday. Yeah, okay, well it's neither one of your birthdays, so screw you both. Apparently. So hey, just wanted to show this, because I'm really proud of this, you know, and I just wanted to tell Matt, that Matt Booth, that I really appreciate him, and, you know, it's not like, you know, he could have given me a free sauce or something, but it's cool, it's cool.

Could've. There was no purchase involved in that ashtray. " Not a problem. Here it is.

And I only have the two. I think it's got a value of like 300 bucks or something, too. Wow. Wow, that's nice.

It's pretty nice. That's nice. It's a good friend. It is.

I got my gigantic Pellegrino here. I'm busting this out. It's happening. Now we can't see you.

Would you see the giant bottle of Pellegrino? Is Pellegrino a sponsor of the show now? No. Like Bang was for years?

Ooh, soft spot. That's a lie. Yeah, that's a lie. That is a soft spot.

Oh, just guzzling away. I was about to say, that is nice in the microphone. No kidding, just guzzling away. I didn't know I needed that.

All right, AMC Theatres, the nation's largest movie theater chain, will reopen this month with a throwback ticket prices of 15 cents. S. 20 prices. We are thrilled once again to open our doors to America's moviegoers who are looking for an opportunity to get out of their houses and apartments And escape into the magic of the movies.

But there's no movies. President of AMC Theater told MarketWatch, well, they're 1920s movies, too. It's why they're 15, so... No, they're doing like Back to the Future.

Yeah, they're doing regular movies. The US reopening... What, go ahead. I have more information.

Go ahead. The US reopening was delayed several times because of the rise of coronavirus cases over the summer. Theaters in the US have been closed since mid-March. S.

AMC plans a phased reopening, with about two-thirds of the locations opening in time for the release of the blockbuster movie, New Mutants, coming out August 28th. Ah, and Tenet, T-E-N-E-T, on September 3rd. The remaining locations will open based on state and local orders. Some states, including New York and California, have not allowed movie theaters to reopen.

Regal Cinema is the nation's second largest chain, plans to reopen some locations August 21st. Cinemark, the third largest theater chain of locations in more than 25 states, including Florida, Georgia, Ohio, Oklahoma, and Pennsylvania, they have started phased reopenings of its theaters earlier in the summer. The movie chains have said they will operate in reduced capacity and implement social distancing as well as increase theater cleansing. Very exciting.

No more sticky floors. So I watched Mission Impossible, Fallout, I haven't watched that. Really? Yeah.

That's the one with the Superman guy in it, right? Yes. Henry Cavill. Henry Cavill.

Good guy. Handsome man. Very handsome. Did you see Justice League?

Yeah. That movie, the one you just watched, is why they had to CGI him so much in the end of the Superman movie. That mustache. Oh, the mustache, yeah.

I remember remembering that. He couldn't shave the mustache. Did you ever see The Man from UNCLE? The TV show?

No, the movie that he was in. Well, Fallout was better than Justice League. Oh, yes, it was. They didn't really give the Joker a fair shake in Justice League.

Wait, was that Squad? Squad. No, Squad. That was the other one.

They're both bad. But there's a show I've been watching, too. What are you watching now? It's fucking amazing.

What are you watching? The Boys. Oh, is that the superhero one? Oh, yeah, but it is so dark.

It's dark superheroes. Oh, it is so twisted. They're all about protecting their brand and shit. The second season hasn't come out yet.

So it's like a capitalistic boys. It's so corrupt. Oh, yeah, yeah. It's so corrupt.

It is absolutely amazing. It's absolutely amazing. So, like, as if they were, like, politicians or some sort. Well, they're trying to get into politics.

They're, like, they're forcing themselves to be into the national defense and stuff like that. Oh, damn. And they do, like, horrible things like, you know, hookers and cocaine and rape and all types of shit. It's always covered up.

Yeah. It's covered up. It's pretty amazing. Did you ever see, what was the new one with Space Force?

Did you ever see that? Oh, on Netflix? I could not get into that. That was terrible.

I tried watching it. And I'm like a huge Office fan, so then to watch that and I'm like, mm, mm, mm, mm, this kind of... I think I got three episodes as far as I go. Ooh, that many, yeah, I did one and I was like, mm-mm, don't wanna ruin this guy for me.

I really gave it a try. Steve Carell? Steve Carell, yeah. Steve Carell, there's a lot of other...

I call him Carell. Yeah, there is a... You call him Carell, I call him Carell. Wait, and then, uh, what was the other, did you see the new Jamie Foxx?

Oh, Power? Yeah, have you seen that? I did like that, I watched that over the years. I heard it was...

Is that the pill one? The pill one. Yeah, the pill one. I heard it was a superhero one.

He takes a pill. You take the pill and you get superhero powers for five minutes. That looks good. Five minutes?

You only get five minutes. Five minutes? Five minutes every pill. That's not enough time.

But you don't know what it's going to do to you. Oh, like what power you're going to get. Right. Or it could kill you.

Oh. So you don't consistently get the same power? No, no. So it's like superhero roulette.

Basically, yeah. There's one guy, a cop that always took it, when he took it, he was bulletproof. Oh. So that worked out well for him.

Yeah. But he had five minutes. So he would, everybody has, they go, dink, and then take the pill, and then they know when their five minutes is up. Ah, okay.

There's another guy who took it, he would burst into flames like the human torch. Yeah. And the other guy would take it and die? Well, one guy took it, and his heart exploded.

Oh. Hmm. Oh, it came out of him? Oh, I mean, it exploded.

Oh, wow. He was a bad guy, thank goodness, so. Yeah. One girl took it, and she got really cold, and if she touched things, they would freeze, but they had her in a controlled room, they had to heat up the room because she was getting too cold, she couldn't control it.

Hmm. So then the room, guys... Should I not watch the movie then? No, no, no.

I mean, how does it end, Mike? You wanna know how it ends? No. Oh, okay.

I can tell you, I watched it, it was good. I liked it. The Boys. The Boys.

The Boys is what's up? The Boys is good. Now this is still season one you're watching, right? Yeah, but there's two.

Season two hasn't come out yet, it comes out this month. Okay, did you guys ever watch, my brother got really into recently, Peaky Blinders. Yeah. Oh my gosh, so good.

I think they're... I didn't like it. Really? Oh my god, that was like a good joke.

Not a big drama guy. For me, it was just more like the wardrobe and the smoking and the drinking. Well, thanks for, I mean, you know, Peaky Berlin's been around for like 10 years. No, I know, but now they're doing the sixth one.

Well, the boys have been out for at least two. Oh, okay. Well, hey, listen, it's not 10. It's only the one season.

They're still going. They got season six coming. Yeah, he's fighting fascism. Are we all?

Yeah, that's what everybody's doing nowadays. So it's modern day now, he's caught up? He's caught up. Pretty much.

There's a pandemic. Yeah. Yeah. That's exactly what's going on.

A hurricane that turns at the last minute. Yeah. Pretty much. Those death hornets really didn't get a lot of air time.

Murder hornets. We went past that really quickly. Yeah. We did.

Well, they were only in one place. They didn't spread like they were hoping. So then they had the riots. Like they were hoping.

Right. So then the riots, you know, they... Cue the riots! What'll be next?

There was something, there's something going on though, I don't remember this, the election, that's a problem too. Oh, well, I like the, we're not giving the post office money, that's nice. Oh, yes. We're not paying.

I'm not paying. Oh, you want money? Nope. I'm good.

Privatize that. All right, Michael, I have, I know you like lists. I do, I love lists. He loves a list.

I have Time Magazine's Worst Inventions. Ooh. Okay. It's a list of many, but we only do the first.

The segway. We'll do 10. Okay, you looked at my list. I don't know.

Look at my list, it's a number one. I like being on the side. The number one is Segway? Number one, worst invention ever is the Segway.

Oh. Okay, what's number two? Anybody? Yeah, yeah, yeah.

Let me guess. The wheel. Why would that be a bad invention? The wheel.

New Coke. New Coke. New Coke. I feel like Unicycle wouldn't be up there.

Not on the list. No? No. Clippy?

I don't know what Clippy is. Oh, the thing from Microsoft Word. " Oh, the little guy. Oh, yeah, the Clippy Clip guy.

Oh, that's terrible. Agent Orange, that's a bet. No, that wasn't great. Agent Orange.

QCat. Anybody know what a QCat is? QCat. Are you texting people during the show again?

What's Agent Orange? I'm looking to see if Justin Andrews is available so we can talk about a cigar. Agent Orange was that thing during Vietnam that they sprayed on all the foliage. Oh yeah, that was a bad idea.

Well, yeah. But also got like all the Americans sick? Yes, got them too. Now it's a font.

What's QCat? I don't know what QCat is. Some of these, I don't even know what they are. The Nintendo Virtual Boy What was that?

Farmville? Anybody play Farmville? Nope I know it existed My mother still plays Farmville Wow She must have a hell of a farm Oh it is Clash of the Clans Clash of the Clans Is that still around? Yeah I'm sure Yeah it's still around Yeah I remember you guys used to put the Don't have that kind of time anymore Matt The power strips in the middle of the table That was good Everybody has to meet at this time That didn't happen Everybody has to meet Oh, I thought that was like a thing that you guys had at a certain time.

No, I thought it was like a certain time you guys all had to be on a certain thing. Well, like the wars? Yeah. Yeah, there was wars.

I need seven something. I'll trade you seven dragons for 12 chests. Right. That's what it used to be said.

I'm like, man, Cigar Hustler really changed. Wizards, men in arms, hydrogen blimps. Those are a bad thing. Not great.

Red dye number two. This is a terrible list. It is a terrible list. They were the worst.

Can we just move on? Ford Pinto? Parachute jacket? Yay.

Crocs. There we go. Crocs. Crocs was killing it these days.

Hoola chair. What's a Hoola chair? Moving on. Not the best segment we've ever heard.

It is. Jesus. Some things work, some things don't. I mean, come on.

You gotta try, I get it. I mean, we just ate spaghetti sauce on a cigar show. It's true. It's true.

It's true. A homeless man in Florida allegedly stole up to $1,200 of merchandise and food while living in a luxury suite at the Tampa Bay Soccer Stadium for over two weeks. Daniel Albert Neija, 39, was arrested earlier this week and an employee of the Outling Stadium found blankets in the luxury suite. The stadium is home to the Tampa Bay Rowdies Soccer Club.

I didn't know the Rowdies are still alive. I don't know, like how do you arrest that guy? You can't just say, you know what? Move along.

Good for you, man. Well, the problem is he stole $1,200 in food. Okay, but you know, I just give him the W, just push him along. And at that, oh no, $1,000 worth of merchandise, so he's wearing all rowdy.

Hey, good for him. He's a big fan. As well as $200 worth of food. Ah, just $200 worth of food.

He got into the merchandise store. I feel like the merchandise might be a little bit overpriced. It was worth $17. Wearing a bunch of team merchandise.

He told us, he made himself quite at home there using surveillance footage. Police determined that Neha had been living in the luxury suite since July 26th. He was arrested shortly after the officers got to the stadium, according to Fernandez. While the officers were there, when the employees spotted him, it went into the stadium, and officers caught up with him right outside the stadium.

He was wearing the same clothes and everything, Fernandez said. He was arrested on charges of third-degree felony burglary and a first-degree misdemeanor of resisting an officer without violence, and bond is currently set at 5,150, according to jail records, if anybody would like to go bail out Mr. Neha. Nah.

No? He shouldn't have been arrested. Should have been or shouldn't have been? Should not have been.

Why don't you go get him out? I can't afford to. Maybe you sell some more of his rowdy attire that he has probably stashed somewhere. Well, he paid for him.

There you go. All right, we have a listener of the week. Tell me. Listener of the week is Cigar Coop.

Cigar Coop. Celebrating 10 years of media presence. Oh, you already mentioned that, though. Yes, I know, that's why he's listening.

But he's the winner now. He's the listener of the week. We didn't talk about our shirts yet. We don't even talk about our shirt yet.

We'd like to thank him for our official nod to put us into our media. We're going to make Drew. What about Drew? Refined Southerner?

At Refined Southerner. Okay, Drew. At Refined Southerner. He gave us these shirts.

He did give us these shirts. You haven't talked about the shirts yet. Stand up and show the back of the shirt. Because really, watch the headphones.

Careful, yeah. Careful of the headphones. Just go ahead and take them on. What angle?

Right between the two of you. Just turn around and fix it. Yes. Oh, look at that.

Very nice. We have hats, too. Oh, yeah. Very nice.

We'll do a photo shoot for these holding the sauce. You know, it was amazing. You know, he gave us the shirts. And we met him at...

Hey, you asked for a weekend. Complimentary shirts. We got that. I just made you lunch, you know.

Complimentary lunch. That was amazing. With bread. With bread.

Stolen from Macaroni Grill. What was the shop we met Drew at? We met him at a shop. Yeah.

Because he's in Alabama. Yeah, we met him at Lajero. Lajero in Atlanta. Gainesville.

Tobacco House. Gainesville? Oh. Atlanta.

We said Atlanta. Gainesville, Georgia? Gainesville, Georgia? Oh.

I thought you meant Gainesville, Florida. No, no. Gainesville, Georgia. It's just outside of Atlanta.

Yeah. Yes. Adam's Place. Adam Dorado.

Nice shot. Dorado. A foundation. Foundation.

Shop. That was always a fun, that was a fun video he made. Foundation. Which one?

All he does is make, well, which one? " Oh, that was funny. That was awesome. I had to re-share that.

I know, that's what I saw was on your page. That was fucking epic. It was, this is a, whatever he said, he said, this is cigar is, shove it up your ass or something like that in Spanish. I'm like, oh my God, that was awesome.

I got a Cuban for you, bro. I was like, fuck it. Hey, that's fucking great. That's all I got.

So, hey. We were going to call Justin. Yeah, but he's not available. He's not answering.

No. But I did want to say to shout out to my boy, Drew. Ten minutes short. In his shop.

Don't pay Drew to get upset. They were 10-minute shorts this week. Pierce Hot Rods. Pierce?

I can't read upside down. Pierce Hot Rods. Thank you, Pierce. Does that make sense?

Yes. Thank you, Drew. One day I want to send my charger to him. Oh, what a great idea.

I do. I really do. It's just that I have to, oof. It's going to be expensive.

I was about to say, you have an infant. Well, you can't drive it there. It's going to be expensive. You can't drive it there.

No, but I'd tow it up there and just put it on a hitch and just drive it up. It's going to be a flatbed. Yeah, it's just, you can rent one of those. Can you?

Yeah, like a little one car thing and just push it up and like a U-Haul or whatever. Oh, just a little trailer. I was thinking a flatbed. Nah.

No truck. But I do want him to do that. It's one of my goals in life. Oh, very nice.

Yeah. Matt, do you want to say the contest again? Yes, I do want to say the contest again. Not only because you guys are doing the giveaway with the ashtray, also we're doing a Fratelli giveaway.

If you go to Fratelli Foods on Instagram, you can make sure you follow us in the comments section, tag to your buddies, and #CigarHustlerPodcast. You'll be entered to win a free mixed pack, one olive vodka, one piccata of the Fratelli & Company pasta sauces. Yay. Winner will be picked.

Winner will be picked on Friday. On Friday. We want to make sure everyone's got plenty of time to get on there. it on there.

Also, if you're watching and listening, you do get the 10% off to those Cigar Hustler podcast listeners. It's going to be CigarHustler10 on the website for the promo code. 10% off everything in your cart. Nice.

What else? Can you buy just the sauces? Is that all you can buy on the website? Yeah, so right now it's just sauces.

But we're working on doing some aprons, doing some different little fun things with apparel. I keep saying spasters because it doesn't make sense. Well, I'm just letting you I don't know how you cook pasta. Cook with a spatula.

Yeah. Okay. Just live and let live, you know? Past the strainer, the little fork, the little spoon with the thing like that.

All right. It's an all-in-one colander right there. There you go. What do we got up for the Patreon?

We are doing the secret cigar. Oh, that's going to be exciting. Yes. Oh my, that is the most exciting I have seen Mike in a very long time.

One of our patrons sent us some unbanded cigars to review. Yeah. Lovely. And then inside the box, taped to the back of the box, That is an envelope with the information of what the cigars are.

Oh, that's fun. Yes. That should be a good time. Yes, let's get on to that.

Yes. All right. This has been episode 135 of the number one cigar show on Player FM and Podbean now, Michael. Which is amazing.

I'm sorry. We're taking you away from your phone. I'm looking at Facebook. Also, you can't let them forget the most mobile on iHeart, right?

Well, we went up three notches, but thank you, Matt. Hey, three notches. Hey, move me. Hey, the sauce was delicious.

Appreciate it. No problem. All right, guys, we'll talk to you later. Bye.

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Hi, I'm doing, I'm Husto E-Raw. Yeah, we just don't have to do it. We just don't have to do it. We just don't have to do it.

We just don't have to do it. We just don't have to do it. We just don't have to do it. We just don't have to do it.

We just don't have to do it. We just don't have to do it. We just don't have to do it. We just don't have to do it.

We just don't have to do it. We just don't have to do it. We just don't have to do it. Yeah.

We just don't have to do a single, uh, single podcast ever again. Perfect. I'm good, Mike and Mike. How are you guys doing?

The Hojo Deeb. Hojo! It's the Hojo! He didn't even let him fuck it up all the way.

I could get past Hojo! I don't even have to try it. He's not even going to try it. We're going to cover a lot of ground here, Mike.

All right. Try to keep up. That's a sign of a good podcast. It'd be like four cigars when I walked in a door.

He's gonna door. All right, end this.

Show Notes

This week Matt Hunt from FQ and Fratelli Pasta Sauces comes on to make us lunch!  Checkout the new Room 101 Ashtray!  and see why Mikey is a Motörhead!!

All this and more on this weeks show!

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