The Deep Roots Connecting Crowned Heads and Oz Family Cigars
In a recent video Jon Huber of Crowned Heads addressed a question he hears frequently. What exactly is the connection between Crowned Heads and Oz Family Cigars?
Huber took viewers back to the mid 1990s when he was trying to break into the cigar business. Fresh out of college and filled with passion he wrote letters to every company listed in Cigar Aficionado magazine. Most never replied. A few sent polite rejections.The final advertisement in that magazine was for a small outfit called CAO International in Nashville. Huber cold called the company got the owners name Cano (Jono) Ozgener and mailed his letter. Four months passed in silence. Then the phone rang. It was Cano (Jono) Ozgener. What prompted the call was that his son Tim had read the letter and urged his father to give the young man a chance. Tim saw real passion and seriousness in those pages. That single recommendation changed the course of Hubers life. He landed the job at CAO and began a career that now spans nearly three decades. Ozgener became far more than a boss. He became a true mentor. And his son Tim? The two men have worked together since 1996.
Fast forward to 2021. Tim who had stepped away from the industry for some years decided to return. He had been one of the original investors when Crowned Heads was founded. The two reconnected and today they work side by side in the same office. Tim works Oz Family Cigars while Huber works on Crowned Heads.
They bounce ideas off each other constantly and collaborate on many projects. Though the brands remain distinct the two companies are deeply intertwined through friendship shared history and a bond forged nearly thirty years ago at CAO.
Check out Huber’s original video here: