Last month, I had the chance to drive up to Nashville for the day. My trusty camera-toting sidekick and I shot some great footage at Corsair Distillery for a project you’ll find out more about soon, then we headed to West Nashville for the afternoon. We met The Hippie at a place called OZ where there are large statues of Bacchus, the god of wine and intoxication…and suddenly this story is starting to sound suspiciously silly. It’s true, though.
In a past life, OZ was known as CAO’s worldwide headquarters, and after Crowned Heads lost their lease at their original location, they were forced to move back there. More recently, the facility elected to go non-smoking, making for a very awkward tenancy for a cigar company. As a result, Jon Huber now splits his time between the indoor office and the outdoor office…a patio table right outside the building.
This is where we sat with Jon and had a good time catching up on what’s going on with Crowned Heads. We ended up with close to 30 minutes of video footage. Editing out the stuff that wasn’t for public consumption, I still ended up with over 20 minutes. Since I believe in not demanding too much of you, my fellow Leaf Enthusiasts, I have split the conversation into two parts.
Today, Jon talks about being back at the “old building” (and next to the John Tune Airport, which you’ll pick up on pretty quickly), his evolving views on having a merchandise store and who Crowned Heads works with to produce their cigars, marketing, growth and the future.
Part 2 will include Jon’s thoughts on limited edition cigars, FDA regulations, bloggers, tobacconists, and the word “boutique.”
I think Jon is one of the most straight shooting guys in the Cigar business, not only does his company make a great product but also is a very humble man and sees the big pictures in life, spending time with family, loving what you do, and being happy. Bravo Gents for this post today