Monday, November 14 2011
By: Mark Gordon, Deputy Managing Editor | Gulf Coast Business Review
The aroma of a well-made cigar is so magnetic to Joseph Chiusano that he’s back in the business — even though it’s one of the most heavily regulated industries in the country.
Chiusano and his brother Michael Chiusano ran
Cusano Cigars of Bradenton for more than 10 years. But the brothers sold the $8 million, 20-employee business in 2009 to Basel, Switzerland-based Oettinger Davidoff Group, a cigar conglomerate with more than 3,000 employees worldwide.
Both Chiusanos worked in Oettinger
Davidoff’s Pinellas Park office for a short time. They left the firm last year. Joseph Chiusano, however, didn’t stay away from the business for long. “
Cigars are a passion,” says Chiusano, pronounced Coosano. “Making a cigar is like being a chef. It’s a labor of love.”
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