Episode 53 More Time on the Road and Shop Reviews
Episode Summary
Episode 53 of A Cigar Hustler's Podcast finds hosts Mike and Mike back in the shop after another multi-day Florida sales run that took them from Stuart up to Rockledge and back. The bulk of the episode is an honest, unvarnished retailer review: which lounges impressed them and which shops made them shake their heads. Executive Cigars in Melbourne gets high praise for its newly renovated, "bougie" third location — chandeliers, big bar, multiple seating areas, and owner Tony's near-constant presence — along with a well-balanced mix of mainstream and boutique brands. Paradise Cigars earns a different kind of compliment: a true "Cheers" vibe where the regulars know everyone walking through the door, and where the hosts' table kept growing as locals filtered in.
The conversation doubles as a candid sales coaching session. The hosts break down why you should chit-chat and ask questions at the *start* of a retail call rather than the end, how to read whether a shop is even a fit for your brand, when to walk away from an egotistical buyer, and how to know when to leave without creating dead air. They discuss route planning across Florida (working down one coast, saturating Fort Lauderdale and Miami, then back up the other side), the economics of a day on the road where no sale means losing money, and why so many reps close a first order and then vanish instead of following up on sell-through. Jeff Gruber gets a genuine tip of the cap for dominating Florida shop shelves and reinventing himself every time he changes brands, with Pete Hernandez named as another heavyweight the guys want on the show in 2019.
The "bad" segment centers on a shop with a half-empty humidor, vague answers about where its house-brand cigars are actually made (the hosts identified the factory, roller and blender before they'd left the parking lot), and an owner who declared he won't take on any new brand that's available online — despite everything already in his humidor being online. That leads into a broader talk about inventory management, not overpaying yourself as an owner, building your own online presence, and cultivating customers for life rather than blaming hard quarters on the market.
The episode wraps with show-growth news (Podbean followers jumping from 55 to 178 and a new download record), a planned Jacksonville run with a stop to see Yvonne at Old City Cigars, and event plugs: a Florinata night on the 24th at the Bird Road shop in Miami with the South Florida FCC group, and Jack Torano and Hector Alfonso of Espinosa Cigars appearing on the 25th.
In This Episode
- 01Back from the Stuart-to-Rockledge Road TripThe hosts recap a long multi-stop Florida sales run and how they pass the drive listening to podcasts.
- 02Shop Review: Executive Cigars, MelbournePraise for the newly renovated third location, its big bar, elegant seating, owner presence, and mainstream-plus-boutique selection.
- 03Shop Review: Paradise CigarsA classic 'Cheers' lounge where the regulars know everyone, and the group at the table kept growing all night.
- 04How to Actually Work a Cigar Shop CallAsk questions and break the ice before the pitch, read whether the shop fits your brand, and learn when to walk away.
- 05Jeff Gruber, Pete Hernandez and Florida Rep CultureWhy Gruber's shelf presence across the state is so impressive and how brokers reinvent themselves when brands change.
- 06The Retailer Who Won't Sell Anything Sold OnlineA shop owner refuses new brands available online while his whole humidor already is — plus empty humidor shelves and a mystery house blend.
- 07Retailer Business AdviceInventory management, not overpaying yourself, building your own online presence, and cultivating customers for life.
- 08Show Growth and Upcoming EventsPodbean follower and download records, a Jacksonville trip to see Yvonne at Old City Cigars, and Espinosa and Florinata events.
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
Every day I'm hustling, hustling, hustling, hustling, hustling, hustling, hustling, hustling, hustling, hustling, hustling, hustling. Every day I'm hustling, every day I'm hustling, every day I'm hustling, every day I'm hustling, every day I'm hustling, every day I'm hustling, every day I'm hustling, every day I'm hustling. Welcome to Cigar Hustlers Podcast, where we take a closer look at the people of the cigar industry, with your host, Mike and Mike. Hustlin', hustlin', hustlin', hustlin', hustlin', hustlin', every day, I'm, every day, I'm, every day, I'm, hold up.
He is Mike, and he's Mike too, and this is a Cigar Hustlers podcast. Okay, he's done. Great. See, we don't have to do the intro anymore because Mr.
Adam Acri took care of that for us. He's Mike, he's Mike too. And this is Cigar Hustlers podcast. And everybody stick around, we have a surprise at the end also.
Ooh, a surprise. Ooh, a surprise. Special Surprise. Special Surprise.
We're changing things around for 2019. It's a new and improved Cigar Hustlers podcast. It's just, it's 10 times better. 10 times better.
Yes. Kind of like the Havana seed. 90 times better. 90 times better.
So, hi Mike. Hello Michael. How have you been? I haven't seen you.
You said it's Tuesday. Is it Tuesday? Wednesday? What day we go?
You were here yesterday. Oh yeah. Briefly. I came back last night.
Where? For Alexa's little Three Musketeer thing that she does on Thursday nights here at the shop. How was that? You know, it was her, Mr.
Hi, Drew, Drew's mom. Fun and exciting? How do I sound? Okay.
I don't know. I can't hear you in my headphones. Really? Oh shit, you just lit the microphone on fire.
I did. It's on fire. I did. Learned it a little bit.
Get closer. All right. Closer. Closer.
Closer. Is that better? No, now you're sitting on a pen. Now there's ink shooting all across.
Ow! In my eye! Alright, so. So we did another little road trip.
Another little road trip. We'll do another one next week. You know, I notice I repeat what you say a lot. Yeah.
Why do you do that? I don't know. I've noticed that when I listen to it. It's like something new I've started doing.
So I'm going to try not to repeat anything you say. I already did it once. That can be the new drinking game. Every time I repeat you, take a drink.
People are going to be shit-faced. Well, at least I'm not interrupting you anymore as much anymore. Yes, we took another road trip where we went from, where did we go? We went to Stewart, Florida, and then worked our way back north to Rockledge, and then took a left turn and came home.
Those days are very long. So, you know, I think as, 'cause we listened to the podcast in the car. Yes, in the car, in the car, 'cause we let Tuesday. Bunch of egotistical pricks that we are, I guess.
We listened to some others, too, but they weren't quite as good. What are you talking about? The one with the... Oh, inside of you with Michael Rosenbaum?
Michael Rosenbaum. I do enjoy that one. With Macaulay Culkin? That was awesome.
I like when I know, sometimes he has people on I've never heard of before. Oh, that was pretty amazing. Macaulay Culkin never did heroin. Yeah, I know.
I was surprised too. Who would have figured? He's only done pot. Uh, no, he didn't say that.
Yeah, just a little bit of pot. No, he's definitely dabbled in more stuff than that, I'm sure. That's all he said. That's all he admitted to.
But he didn't do heroin. No, no heroin. Kind of funny how the media, like, you know, twists all that shit around. I'm listening.
Go ahead. I'm trying not to answer a phone call. So, anyway, so we listened to the podcast. It was a podcast.
Yes. I just repeated it again. Can I have you a lighter? And you just repeated it again.
Damn it! Take a drink! And, you know, if we're going to review the trip, I think that we should kind of keep the bullshit part of the retailer aspect, like the things that sucked, until after we talk about the good parts about some of the retailers that we saw. You know?
So we'll do the good first. I just lit the wall on fire. Yeah. We'll do the good first this time and then the bad after.
Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. So, so, Executive. That is a, I love that place. I wish it was closer, though.
In Melbourne. I would hang out there more often if it was closer. I think what I'm going to do is I'm just going to hold my breath as you talk, as you cut me off, and I'm going to continue with my sentence after you're done. So, Executive in Melbourne was a really cool place.
They just redid it. They just renovated it, moved over. They have a huge-ass bar. Really nice.
Really nicely done. What did you think of that place? I have seen it as it was being built. Yeah.
So I was in there right after the old tenant left. So it was fun to see the transformation. It is an amazing lounge now. It's very, very nice.
Yeah. You never saw the old one, did you? No. It's like night and day.
I mean, the old place wasn't bad, but it's the way they have it set up. They're more elegant now, I guess you could say, with the chandeliers and the nice furniture and the city. Bougie. Yeah, bougie.
Okay, they're bougie. Well, the other place was more like a Cheers. Ah. Where everybody knows your name.
Everybody knows your name. A long bar. Everybody's sitting at the bar. Even though that furniture came from the other place, it wasn't set up as spread out.
So it was more like just one little mini large seating area in the back. Right. So now there's like multiple seating areas. So, I mean, I can kind of appreciate the fact of like an owner always kind of there, you know, at least having some presence.
Right. Putting in at least a few hours a week or a day or, you know, whatever. Yeah. I think that makes a big difference.
I've hardly been there when Tony wasn't either about to come in or about to leave. So I think he's like an everyday thing. Right. I believe his father owned the original location.
That's their third location. Really? Yeah. They've moved two other times.
They keep going bigger. Every time it's been bigger. Oh, that's cool. Yeah.
So they got, I mean, they have a pretty wide variety. They have a good blend of mainstream and boutiques, which I thought was really nice. Really nice. Yes.
And they're looking and expanding. What are you doing now? I'm talking to my child. Can it wait?
No, because I'm meeting him right after the podcast. It's going to have to wait. It is. I feel like, you know-- I'm ready.
I'm ready. I'm going. Let's go. Our listeners deserve your full attention.
If you wouldn't have brought it up, they would never have known. Because it frustrates me because I'm talking to you and you're fucking-- I'm listening to you. It doesn't matter. It's not the same.
So it's sort of like when we ride in the car and I'm driving and talking and you're texting and not paying attention. Oh yeah, no, I feel guilty about it. Okay, so it's okay. I feel terribly guilty to all the listeners and to you, Michael.
I wholeheartedly apologize for my lack of involvement here in the last two seconds. I permit you to apologize to me, so... I just did. I didn't need your permission to apologize.
You do. You definitely need my permission. No, we don't. That was something that Ray 1-2 did to me one time.
He said you... " So now I'm trying to work that in. I was like, wow, that was fucking... that was a brilliant move.
That's a good move. That is a good move. I'm going to start using it against my wife. I permit you to apologize.
Yeah. " Then, pshh! Snacks me across the face. That'll go over like a lead balloon.
Yes, it will. I have a little bit of leverage. So, Executive was really cool. Paradise Cigars was pretty cool.
Different feel. Different feel. It's more of a cheers feel. Yeah.
Yeah. Everybody that came in, they knew everybody that walked in the door. Right. Yeah.
You know, nice, decent sized bar. Right, and we had to move from the table to the seating area because our little group kept growing and growing as some more regulars came in. Yeah, that was pretty cool. That was pretty cool, too.
You know, Burke's really cool, Mike's really cool. Brooks. Brooks, I'm sorry. Burke.
Burke. Burke. Was there a Burke at the first place? Burt.
Was it Bert at the first place? What was the guy at the first place? Herb? Herb, you know.
So close. So close. It's not like I'm ever going back in there again. Oh, man.
All right. So there's that. Yeah, so those are the two places that kind of stuck out for me. Yeah, we hit five.
One, two, three, four. No, we hit four because we cut one out. Yeah. Cut one out because we ran out of time.
And one of them, there wasn't a lounge. It was a liquor store that sold cigars. So that wasn't like a hangout place. But, hey, he bought some of your...
He did. He bought the bundle program. So, you know, I was happy. Good for you.
Yeah. It makes you happy. It does. It's always nice when you walk out with, not really money in your pocket, but, you know, for a euphemism, money in your pocket.
Right. Because I make money off of it, so, yes. Learning the ways. Learning the ways.
The ways of wholesale to retail. So, if it's okay with you. I just repeated you again. I'd like to talk about one place where you kind of fucked up, if that's all right.
Sure, go ahead. And then we can kind of. Certainly, please. Embarrass me in front of the huge following.
It isn't an embarrassment. It's more about making adjustments, because I want you to be better. Go ahead. So, you know, and I know that we talked about this off the air, but the fact of the matter is that when you go into these shops, you have to care, right?
You have to give a shit about the retailer, and, you know, you've got to ask questions, right? I usually ask questions at the end, which doesn't work, obviously. You're going totally backwards. Yeah, I'm going backwards.
So it works better the other way. Yeah. Hitting them with the pitch, you're just like, oh. They're just sitting there staring at you.
And I sort of feel obligated to just get going. I don't want to be a time suck. I get that. But, you know, especially people in this industry, but everybody likes to talk about themselves, you know?
Yeah. So if you can get them to kind of open up and be honest with you, you know, break that ice. Well, when you came out and started chitchatting with the man before you even said, I mean, I don't even know if you introduced your, gave him your name, I don't know, I mean, he did lighten up considerably. Yeah, because he didn't feel like a cold call.
Right. You know? Right. And not to mention, you know, you got to kind of learn and see if the guy's going to be a fit for you.
Right? So, if he's a complete asshole, if you're talking about him and asking him questions about himself and his business and his responsibilities, And his retorts are, you know, short and egotistical, then you might not want to fucking waste any of your time. Okay, cool, man. Have a good day and see you later, right?
The guy at the liquor store acted like we were the tax man when we came in. He wouldn't even admit who he was. Well, yeah. He's like, huh?
Hi, is Mike here? No, no, Mike's not here. Well, I mean, I didn't pitch that guy, but, you know. No, I had already been there once before and talked to Zach because he was at a doctor's appointment.
I just don't think that that place is a great fit for our brands. No, not for you. No, no. For like, you know, for something that might offer a higher margin and is like a little bit more accessible.
You know, your guy who's gonna buy a bottle of booze and just wants to grab a couple of quick sticks that are inexpensive. Right, bundle sticks. Yeah. That's the kind of place where you get those.
That's where that kind of fits. You don't go in there looking for an Opus X or, you know. Yeah, so, I mean... But I think he did have some Fuentes, though.
Yeah, he had a couple things that were kind of coming off. Kind of a weird mix, yeah. But, you know, I think that advice from the hustlers, obviously, just give a shit about them, ask them a question. Yeah, a little more chit-chat in the beginning instead of the end.
Yeah, open them up, get them to kind of break the ice and learn about them because, you know. You know, that worked better because a lot of my problem is I don't know when to leave. Yeah. Because if I'm doing the chit-chat at the end, I mean, the conversation could go forever.
Right. Because you don't want, you don't want dead air, you don't want just, they're just, you guys are staring at each other and you're like, so, how about those chiefs? Did, I think, I feel like you made a little more eye contact with me on this trip. Did you, did that happen or no?
I mean, we didn't really get caught up. Not intentionally. Yeah. I thought the Paradise Sit dragged a little longer than it might have needed to.
I mean, it was the last one I was trying to go home. Well, we were kind of, yeah. But we were, we were in a conversation with the people. And we were kind of waiting, you know, to meet Brooks, and then he wanted to smoke a cigar, and I think that we called at the right time, personally.
Well, it was when we finished the cigars. Yeah, I think you were a little anxious to get home. I was, too. Yeah, well, I mean, it was already, what, 8:30?
Yeah, I don't know how... kudos to anybody who's on the road and just hitting all those places all the time, because I couldn't do it. I'd lose my shit, I'd be like, I mean, I prefer to have a couple of events set up, guys that I'm established with, makes life a lot easier, and you can have a good time. And it's a pain for the trip.
It does help offset costs. Right, I mean, if I'm out and I don't make a sale, I didn't make any money that day. Right, no, you lost money. Yeah, I lost money.
Not only did you not make any, you ran into the negative. Right. So. I try to look at it as a whole, because there's some days I do really good, some days nothing.
Yeah, playing the long game. Yeah, right. I like that phrase. Playing the long game.
Yeah, playing the long game. Jeff Gruber absolutely dominates the state of Florida, by the way. Well, you can tell that when you go around. He's got stuff everywhere.
He is legitimately in every fucking shop. Yep. How long has he been at it? Which is so impressive.
I have no idea. Has he been calling on you here as long as you've been open? I think so. Pretty close to it.
So I mean he's go back listen to the show I guess he would he explained how long you've been doing it but it's got to be at least five maybe six years but here's the thing being in the game that long he's rotated brands have shit can him fired him you know he's removed himself from brands and he has to oh yeah well there was someplace I was like oh look there's groovy like not anymore not anymore but he has to constantly reinvent himself every single time and granted that product was still on the shelf that was no longer his representation but his new stuff was He was on there too. Right. You know? So it's like, fuck man, that guy is...
That's what I keep telling everybody. They're not buying the cigar, they're buying me. Kudos to Jeff, man. Yeah.
That's... I don't think there's anybody else like him in the state of Florida. Shots fired. Pete Hernandez.
He's the king. Shots fired. Pete. Well, Jeff's been on the show.
Pete hasn't. Yeah. Pete Hernandez. We'll put him on the list for 2019.
He called me today talking about all types of stuff, Aladino and Tatuaje, and I just I just let him suck 45 minutes of my life. He didn't get an order. I told him that wasn't going to happen. I had to take on Espinosa for Jack Taranio.
Oh. So, hey, you know, you got to learn when to allocate and when to spend. That's right. You only so much room, only so many dollars in the pocket.
Yeah. So that's fun. Okay. All right.
Well, we didn't talk about the one. Is this where we're going now? Yes. Oh, you sighed.
I thought that was, okay, that's it, folks. Thank you for listening. No, no, no. So let's, I mean, I mean, I almost fucking fell out of my chair when this retailer said this to us.
I thought it was fucking hilarious. I didn't know how to answer his question when he asked. It was absolutely amazing. So we're sitting talking to this guy and, you know, he asked about our brands and stuff and, you know, I kind of took the lead in that conversation, which I apologize for.
No, no, I talked to him, like you said, that's where he blew my wad too early. I talked to him when you were looking at him in the humidor. Gotcha. And he had a decent humidor.
He had some, you know, he had. Had a lot of holes. Yeah, okay, right. Had a lot of space.
Yeah, so, I mean, that's a problem, right? So managing your books and making sure that your inventory is always up to par is kind of a big deal. You don't want to overspend and have shit sitting in the back, and you don't want to underspend and have vacant. Right, have vacant real estate in the shop.
Because your consumer will think that, oh, my God, this place is going under. Yeah, there's something wrong. They don't have. They're going to be closed soon, you know.
Right. So giving off that impression is kind of a big deal. I imagine it's quite a trick to make it look like you're full without losing money. Well, it's not really that tricky.
Here's the trick. Here's the trick of being a successful retailer. Please, enlighten us, oh wise one. It's really, really easy.
Don't pay yourself a lot of money. First and foremost, don't pay yourself a lot of money. And always have the ability to make purchases of product that sells, right? They might be running some medical bills.
This poor sweet wife looked like she had taken a- Yeah, but that shit can, I mean, so, they'll take, you know, monthly payments on that? You break that down, medical bills? Whatever. They're probably Medicaid anyway.
Medicaid, Medicare. Like, yeah, no, can't pay that bill because I have to keep the lights on and surplus in my store. Right. But we kind of got off subject.
" Do you sell online? I said, "Oh, no, we just deal with brick-and-mortar shops, sir. " And he was like, "No. " You're not available online, son.
Yeah. Well, I pointed at Michael and I go, well, one brand he sells online for me. So, I kind of started laughing at the guy. I think he did.
And I say, you know, yeah, everything is online. Everything's online somewhere. And he says, well, we're not going to be taking on anything new that is online. I said, oh, okay.
Cool story, bro. So, you are aware that everything that's in your humidor... Except for your store brand. Everything that's in your humidor is online, right?
Right. There's nothing new, nothing new that's on. I said, and you are aware that at this point, a lot of shops, smaller shops, have decided to build their own online presence, right? And he's like, just kind of dead-aired me.
" So, I mean... Well, good luck to you, sir. Thank you, sir. So I don't know what you're gonna sell moving forward.
I wish you the best at boxing air, I guess, and selling that to your consumers, but the absent-mindedness of some of these retailers is just fucking boggling. I liked how he was so vague on where he gets his house brand cigars. I mean, you're really putting the guy on blast. Like he had stumbled onto some factory hidden in the jungles of Nicaragua that he just happened to find.
Right, I picked up the cigar, I knew exactly where it was from. Right, I say, time we get out in the car, you'd already had one phone call to verify where it was. We had the name of the factory, the guy who rolled it, and the blender. Wow.
Amazing. And there's like four other shops that use the same place. So that was pretty fucking funny, dude. Yes.
I was the only down for that trip, though, so at least we're getting better, better odds. Well, you know, I guess that's kind of like what you want to do, right, is you want to make sure that you only have so much time in the day, right? So you're better off kind of weeding out the garbage and making sure that you only hit intelligent retailers. Now, the hard part for you is to make sure that it loops, right?
So you got to kind of work one way of Florida, work your way down, make sure that you hit everybody on the way down that's worth the shit, and you know, the middle is kind of hairy, and then kind of saturate Fort Lauderdale, Miami, because there's a ton there, and you can get caught up there tremendously, especially when it comes to trying to rep a boutique, and then kind of work your way back up, either you do the East Coast or the West Coast. I mean, it was just kind of entertaining to go with you. I mean, it was definitely fun, you know, because I know that, you know, I figure that the majority of those guys are gonna suck anyways, and, you know, I-- Well, the problem is, I can't tell till I go in. Yeah, that's-- So, I've got-- so there's at least one dead trip that I have to make.
Right. Because nobody-- I mean, I don't know, maybe if I-- no, because they had other people's stuff, so, So if I were to ask some of the people that I know, some of the other brand owners, they would have went, "Oh yeah, they've got our stuff in there" and blah, blah, blah. Well, realistically, if you weren't, I mean, if you could afford it, you, if you saw somebody, if you annoyed the shit out of them, saw them seven times, they would cave. Right, right.
I mean, it would happen. Right. Because, you know, they just wouldn't, you wouldn't go away, you know, if you saw the potential and the volume of a store and you really wanted to build in that store, it's going to take a lot of work on your part, right? Now, those stores that we saw that are a complete mess don't have the volume.
No. Clearly don't have the volume. No. So, you know, but I think that there are other stores that if you really wanted to build, you could.
It would just take some time. Well, that's what I mean. There's a lot of shops I've been into now two, three times. And so, I mean, you know, it's the ones that you, like you said, you feel will eventually pay off.
Right. So, they're on their way to something else, so you stop in for 20, 30 minutes, you know, as you're going by. But that's kind of also where a lot of, not even just so much brokers, but regular reps kind of fall off. So, like, they'll come in, they'll hit you, they'll hit you again, they'll hit you again, and then, you know, maybe on four, five, six times, you finally break, and you take on the product, and then they go away.
Right, yeah. They totally disappear. And it's like, wait, what happened here? You know, like, so you don't want to kind of follow up, check on the products, see how things are going, you know, like, they don't do that at all, so, you know, I mean, that's kind of a fine line, you know, you could argue either way, right?
Right. Because, at the end of the day, it's definitely up to a retailer to educate the consumer if they believe in the product, but if you force them to believe in the product, then you're going to have to continue to encourage the sale, right, and the moving of that product. Yeah, that's hard, because I've gotten into some places where, you know, you go back in the second time, and a month later, and you're like, hardly anything is sold. Because there's no commitment from the retailer.
Well, it's just it. I mean, there's only so much I can do. Right. I can't show up at the same shop every single day and greet everybody that comes in the door.
I feel like you could. No, I'm just kidding. I can't. I don't know.
So, do you sell online, Mike? Yeah. Yeah, pretty good stuff, man. How can you not in today's world?
I mean, I can understand if he would ask do you sell to, you know, CI or, you know, the big people who do the big, deep discounts. But there and again, that's why that guy is telling you that, you know, he's had hard times, right? Oh, right. He's had hard quarters.
Yeah, because you're not reinventing yourself. You're not being aggressive. You're not pressing the envelope. You're not looking for more streams of revenue, you know?
I mean people come in people go out it doesn't necessarily they mean they live right by you you know maybe but maybe they had a good impression a good feel and they want to continue to do business with you wherever they live so you know collect that information build that relationship and cultivate a customer for life right you know I agree anything else you want to add today for this podcast we're only 20 minutes I mean like you were super excited about Are you talking about how the growth of the followers this week, you know? Oh my lord, I don't know what's happened. We've shown up on a list somewhere or something. We went from 55 followers basically on Monday to, as of last time I checked, 178.
And that's Podbean only, right? Podbean only, yes, yes. Our numbers on Instagram are up to 85% of the people that listen are subscribers, but I don't know how many total people listen on iTunes. So we're moving in the right direction?
We're moving in the right direction, yes, yes. Which has got to make you happy. Oh, yeah. We had a weekly download high on Tuesday of like a hundred and...
our record before was 125, and that was actually the Sunday after I was on Kiss My Ash. That was our high before. But this week on a Tuesday, we had 130-something? 138, maybe?
I don't remember exactly. Nice. And our mystery listener must be in a new location. Yeah.
We have Azbekistan or something like that, one listener. It's not one of those Djibouti-type places. I like it. Some black site somewhere.
We've got somebody who listens and travels around. Apparently, good luck to you, sir. We appreciate you. You're too funny.
Keep your head down because I can't even pronounce the places that you're going to now. So you want to hit Jacksonville? Next week, we're going to go to Jacksonville. Stop in and see Yvonne either on the way up or on the way back, depending on her schedule.
And who is Yvonne? Yvonne is at Old Towns, Old City Cigars, Old Towns, Old City Cigars, that doesn't sound right. That's right. Is that right?
It doesn't sound right. Old City Cigars, fine purveyor of everything I carry. She bought the entire package. You know, we had Matt Hunt in here yesterday, and we should have got him on the podcast.
I saw he took an Instagram picture, but I had already left. It must have been between my two visits yesterday. See, you just got to kind of post up here. I was here all day yesterday.
I really need you to commit. I was here yesterday 9:00 to 3:00, and then I came back at 6:00 and stayed till 8:00. It just doesn't sound like you're committed. I was here longer than you were yesterday.
Yeah, well, you know. Greg did triple my pay today, though. Yeah? Yes.
Three dollars? No, triple zero is still zero. Oh. " I thought you at least got a dollar.
Nope. But you have a key. I know I have a key. I can come up any time I want.
Do you want to plug your next big event that's coming up? Sure. What the hell? Oh, well, that's weird.
I gave the teaser for that one. I was thinking of the one after that. But yeah, next... Let's see, this will be...
Oh. Oh, this will be Tuesday. So yeah, you can plug the one that's on Friday. January 25th?
Yes, because then I have one on the 24th I'm going to plug also. On the 24th I'm going to plug also. Jack Taranio and Hector Alfonso. The double whammy.
Of Espinosa Cigars. I feel that it's going to be a very, very long show. Are going to be here. Because the gauntlet has been dropped by Mr.
Danny Vasquez. They're going to be here that Friday. What time are they showing up? Who the fuck knows?
I'll have to find out. Might have to pull them from the event to come back here because I'm going to be coming up from Miami. Because on the 24th, I have a Florinata event at Come Smoke With Us, the cigar shop on Bird Road, with the South Florida FCC Group. Nice.
That's going to be a big thing. Last night, they had like 25 guys that showed up and they brought food. They had a buffet at the shop they were at. They brought in their own buffet.
Come Smoke With Us is not the name of the shop. Come Smoke With Us. That's not the name of the shop. That's what he puts on his Instagram.
Yeah, I know that's his hashtag, but that's not the name of the shop. Now it escapes me. It's the cigar shop on Bird Road. Yeah.
Come smoke with me? No. That is what it is. Now, if only there was a device where we could look this up.
It is called... We're typing. Havana Humidor. I don't think that's what it's called.
Hold on to you. Yeah, that's what it's called. No, the cigar shop of Bird Road. Dude, it's Havana Humidor.
It's not, it doesn't say that anywhere on his Instagram. I'm telling you, it's called- They've got their own, they've got their own podcast too. Okay. Oh, they're on Podbean.
8353 Bird Road, Miami, Florida, 6 to 10 on Thursday night. Good for you. Oh, and, the lovely Mrs. Palmer is going also.
There's a guy that runs the shop, his name is Steve, he's a really good guy. What's going on? People, George is checking in, it's a beautiful Thursday afternoon, it's almost 5:30, beautiful weather, the sun's about to go down, it's got some good news for you guys, if you are always looking to buy a nice, beautiful lighter, or a nice reliable cutter, I can't turn them off! I forgot that was a commercial.
You're the worst. CSW, come smoke with us. Yeah, I hear ya, that's not the name of the shop. I think it is.
Okay. I think you're wrong. It's the Cigar Shop of Bird Road. Okay.
Sounds good. Hey, what's going on? I can't get them to stop! This is where you start losing it and I start walking out.
No, no, no, no. That's going to conclude the podcast. This is a short one. They can't all be long.
We're in the process of setting up YouTube, too, also. So be watching for that. Yeah, and then I'd like to work on video with you as well. And I want to review the half-wheel stuff.
So we're going to have to do that in the upcoming week or so. We need somebody who doesn't speak the language. Yeah. The new employee.
We have to find somebody around here. All right, we'll get somebody. All right, guys, thanks. That's it.
We love y'all. Thanks for listening. Bye. Bye.
This is the operator with a collect ball from... To accept the charges, press one, now. Okay, that's it, kids. Show's over.
Thanks for listening. As always, the guys welcome your comments, ideas, and show suggestions, and you can send them to our Facebook page at A Cigar Hustler Podcast. You can also follow the show on Instagram at Cigar Hustler Podcast, or follow Mikey at Cigar Hustler, and follow Mike2 at FCC_Mike. Please remember to rate, review, subscribe on whichever podcast provider that you listen on.
Thanks again. some places we can go. Do you wanna ride here? Ride with me.
With me. Your spot is reserved, family. Do you wanna ride? Cigarette boats, yachts.
Can't know where we can't go. We in South Beach in the Hamptons too, baby. You know why they call a project a project? Because it's a project.
An experiment. We're in it. Only its objects. An object.
We're in it. For us to explore our prospects inside
Show Notes
We spend another day taking the show on the road!!
Come along for the ride, hear the stories, Mikey evaluates my sales skills and we dish on more shops and what works and what doesn't!
Welcome to all our new followers and listeners! At last check we are up over 200%!
As always we welcome your show comments, ideas and guest suggestion on our FB page "A Cigar Hustlers Podcast". You can follow the show on IG @cigarhustlerspodcast, Mike @cigarhustler and Mike2 @fcc_mike.
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