Cigarette company agreement seeks to halt Internet sales

Bob Mervine
Staff Writer

LAKE MARY -- There's already a buzz about Corona Cigar Co.'s new $1.5 million retail store and it's one-of-a-kind lounge in the Colonial TownPark Center in Lake Mary opening Jan. 28.
The original Corona Cigar location, which opened in 2002 at 7792 W. Sand Lake Road, includes 5,000 square feet of totally humidified space, displaying more than 1 million cigars. Only a few select items, such as the legal, pre-Fidel Castro Cuban cigars, are kept under lock and key

. The new Lake Mary location is slightly smaller, with about 3,500 square feet at 1130 TownPark Ave. It will feature the only Avo Lounge in the nation -- which will offer coffee, beer and wine, as well as a place to smoke cigars and listen to live piano music. It also features hand-carved wooden furniture and an alabaster bar top. The only other Avo Lounge opened in 2003 in Aarau, Switzerland.

The Avo Lounge, opening locally on Jan. 28, is named for Avo Uvezian, the creator of the Avo line of premium cigars. Uvezian, a 79-year-old Central Florida resident originally from Armenia, launched the Avo brand in 1988.

He started giving away handmade cigars while playing the piano at the Palmas del Mar resort in Puerto Rico. He says his daughter finally told him, "If they want a cigar, sell it to them." Nearly 20 years later, it's become a 3 million-cigars-a-year business owned by Geneva-based Davidoff & Cie S.A.

Uvezian, still a musician, regularly holds court at Corona Cigar when he's in town. Wearing a signature white Brioni suit and Mexican straw hat, he plays piano, sings a little, and signs plenty of cigar boxes and other memorabilia, as well as his own jazz CD.

Uvezian will be the star of the Jan. 28 grand opening party, sharing the stage with a cigar created for the Avo Lounge. The big, $16 double corona-size cigar (48 by 7.5 inches), labeled the Avo Lounge, was created for the original lounge in Switzerland. It features a distinctive blue cigar band and will be available in the United States only at Corona Cigar.

Corona Cigar founder Jeff Borysiewicz has approval from Davidoff to be the exclusive user of the Avo Lounge name in the United States.

Borysiewicz originally went into business in 1996 as an online cigar retailer, filling mail orders from a small office in west Orange County. But, with the development of Orlando's Restaurant Row on Sand Lake Road, Borysiewicz took a gamble in 2002 by opening an as-yet untried concept here -- a high-end retail cigar store with an adjoining lounge.

Internet sales remain important, says Borysiewicz, but he also wants walk-in customers. "The online buyer is looking for a bargain," he says. "They are buying $2 cigars, 25 or 50 at a time. The in-store customer is paying from $8 to $25 for one or two cigars, plus they buy a drink or two."

The original Corona Cigar location, which opened in 2002 at 7792 W. Sand Lake Road, includes 5,000 square feet of totally humidified space, displaying more than 1 million cigars. Only a few select items, such as the legal, pre-Fidel Castro Cuban cigars, are kept under lock and key.

The new Lake Mary location is slightly smaller, with about 3,500 square feet at 1130 TownPark Ave. It will feature the only Avo Lounge in the nation -- which will offer coffee, beer and wine, as well as a place to smoke cigars and listen to live piano music. It also features hand-carved wooden furniture and an alabaster bar top. The only other Avo Lounge opened in 2003 in Aarau, Switzerland.

The Avo Lounge, opening locally on Jan. 28, is named for Avo Uvezian, the creator of the Avo line of premium cigars. Uvezian, a 79-year-old Central Florida resident originally from Armenia, launched the Avo brand in 1988.

He started giving away handmade cigars while playing the piano at the Palmas del Mar resort in Puerto Rico. He says his daughter finally told him, "If they want a cigar, sell it to them." Nearly 20 years later, it's become a 3 million-cigars-a-year business owned by Geneva-based Davidoff & Cie S.A.

Uvezian, still a musician, regularly holds court at Corona Cigar when he's in town. Wearing a signature white Brioni suit and Mexican straw hat, he plays piano, sings a little, and signs plenty of cigar boxes and other memorabilia, as well as his own jazz CD.

Uvezian will be the star of the Jan. 28 grand opening party, sharing the stage with a cigar created for the Avo Lounge. The big, $16 double corona-size cigar (48 by 7.5 inches), labeled the Avo Lounge, was created for the original lounge in Switzerland. It features a distinctive blue cigar band and will be available in the United States only at Corona Cigar.

Corona Cigar founder Jeff Borysiewicz has approval from Davidoff to be the exclusive user of the Avo Lounge name in the United States.

Borysiewicz originally went into business in 1996 as an online cigar retailer, filling mail orders from a small office in west Orange County. But, with the development of Orlando's Restaurant Row on Sand Lake Road, Borysiewicz took a gamble in 2002 by opening an as-yet untried concept here -- a high-end retail cigar store with an adjoining lounge.

Internet sales remain important, says Borysiewicz, but he also wants walk-in customers. "The online buyer is looking for a bargain," he says. "They are buying $2 cigars, 25 or 50 at a time. The in-store customer is paying from $8 to $25 for one or two cigars, plus they buy a drink or two."

His business strategy seems aimed at making that goal a reality.

For example, Borysiewicz's concept goes far beyond what one would expect to find in a cigar store. Pricey lighters, cutters, novelty items and exotic ashtrays such as those made from imported, stuffed lizards fill the store. "Almost everything is for sale," says Borysiewicz, who also has a custom Corona motorcycle on display, as well as a custom Hummer SUV.

In addition, special events featuring cigar makers and their products, or a new import beer or upscale port are regular occurrences.

One other ace in the hole: Corona Cigar has 32 employees at the two stores, and Borysiewicz says they are the key to his company's success.

"We train them in customer service," says Borysiewicz. "We train them to sell cigars. I get asked all the time how I find them, but that's a company secret."

Source by : http://www.bizjournals.com/orlando/stories/2006/01/16/story6.html?page=2