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"People will forget what you said, people will forget what you did,

but people will NEVER forget how you made them feel."

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-Maya Angelou-

OUR JOURNEY

Hello, our names our Lui Moran and Michael Pugh. Where you see one, you will most likely see the other. We have been a team, both personally and professionally, since 2004. 
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Before our meeting, our lives were very much parallel to one another. Below is a short preview of what we had accomplished individually before 2004:

Michael -

  • San Jose State University - Marketing

    • Affiliation - Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity​

  • US Air Force (1987-1991) - Law Enforcement

    • Desert Storm​

  • Coca Cola - Sales (1991-1992)​

  • Minolta - Sales (1992-1993)

  • K&M Industries - Owner (1993 - 2004)

    • Primary Major Government Contractor​

      • CA, NV, AZ​​

Lui -

  • University of Maryland 1994 - 1996: BS Business & Finance

    • Completed 4-year degree program in 2 years.​

  • US Air Force (1987-1991) - Nurse

    • Desert Storm​

  • Blue Cross Blue Shield of Oregon - Insurance Administrator 

  • EDS - Project Implementation Manager (2001-2003)

  • Maid Savvy - Owner (2003-2005)

    • Residential cleaning service​

    • Transferred business to my ex-husband

OUR FIRST PROJECT

CENTER COURT RESTAURANT / BAR

CLIENT: CHRIS WEBBER

In 2004 our entire lives shifted --- our meeting wasn't by chance but by fate. Our paths crossed for a purpose: to create magic by combining our talents to help companies create memorable consumer experiences through event production and execution. 

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Our first client together was Chris Webber, NBA star and owner of Center Court -- his first restaurant/bar located in Sacramento, CA. When we signed Chris as a client in 2006, he had been open for one year and was experiencing concept issues with the menu and entertainment. Customers were confused and quite disappointed in the menu selection and food preparation. The bar was struggling, with weekly receipts totaling less than $5,000. 

 

Our solution:

  • Proposed: We advised Chris to hire a new chef to design a new menu concept that better represents his family background. Result: Chris hired the chef that we introduced to him and redesigned the menu to a soul food concept. 

  • Proposed: We advised Chris to offer musical entertainment on Friday nights to attract new customers from the local community. Result: Chris approved. We scouted local talent to perform every Friday. Sacramento is a musical community filled with talented singers and musicians, so it wasn't challenging to procure talent weekly. 

Outcome:

  • The restaurant increased revenue and had better food reviews. 

  • The weekly entertainment increased Friday bar sales as follows:

    • Month 1: Increased from $2,000 to $5,000

    • Month 2: Increased from $5,000 to $10,000

    • Month 3 - 12: Friday night bar sales averaged $15,000+

  • Center Court became Northern California's top Patron Tequila account (CWebb's favorite spirit)

  • Center Court was over 64,000 sq. ft. in size which made for a great entertainment venue. Its legal capacity was 600; however, by month 3, we surpassed the venue capacity and had to request an increase to 750 to accommodate the demand. 

  • We successfully serviced our first client for one year.

  • After we left, Chris' management hired promoters to continue Friday night entertainment and added Thursday and Saturday to their entertainment schedule.

  • Unfortunately, in 2009 the promoters they hired attracted the wrong crowds, which led to an incident that required Chris to close his business permanently. We were living in Los Angeles, working on Comisario by this time.

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COMISARIO TEQUILA

2007 - 2011

Our path with Comisario Tequila crossed in 2007, soon after our contract with Chris Webber ended. We met Dr. Roy Morita, founder and former owner of Comisario Tequila, while we were planning a bar crawl for Downtown Sacramento. We were actively seeking a presenting spirit sponsor for the event, and his name was referred to us to contact. He was very new to the spirit world and green to marketing his new product. Roy accepted the presenting sponsor offer, which started our fun-filled 5-year journey with Comisario Tequila in our roles as VP of Sales and Marketing (Michael) and COO (Lui).

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Pictured is the Comisario executive team: the late Randy Hollister (CEO), Mike Harmon (CFO), Lui (COO), Dr. Morita, and his late wife Deena Morita, attended this initial meet & greet meeting with Steve Rice and Rick Darnell to discuss the sale of Comisario to World Food & Beverage. Not pictured is Michael (VP of Sales and Marketing) who took the picture. 

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The following is a summary of our roles and responsibilities during our tenure.

MICHAEL
VP OF SALES AND MARKETING

  • Sales and Marketing

    • Managed over 1.5M in budget handling

    • Generated an increase in sales/placement by 37%

    • Managed placement at on/off-premise locations.

    • Led team to ensure the attainment of individual goals.

    • Assisted in day-to-day operations, sales, placement, and logistics.

    • Worked closely with our distributor, Southern Wine and Spirits' sales and management teams in Northern and Southern California territories to increase new business development opportunities.

    • Conducted ride-alongs with distributor sales reps.

    • Transported and delivered products as needed to new accounts statewide.

    • Conducted site visits to provide additional customer service and follow-up that the distributor had no time to manage.

    • Coordinated and managed in-store events at California accounts, festivals, and celebrity-focused events. 

LUI
CHIEF OPERATING OFFICER

Operations (Lui)

  • Worked closely with TTB to get labels for three expressions approved promptly.

  • Communicated with production needs and requirements.

  • Successfully imported new containers of Comisario and worked with customs upon entry into Tijuana/ San Diego.

  • Worked with the trucking company to transport the containers from the border to our bond warehouse in El Monte, CA.

  • Managed products at the bond warehouse and worked with our accounting team to maintain proper inventory count and ensured that the bond/excise taxes were correct and paid promptly.

  • Coordinated and managed in-store events at California accounts, festivals, and celebrity-focused events. 

  • Worked with Randy Hollister (CEO) and Michael (VP Sales & Marketing) on strategic planning and brand activation activities.

If you do what you LOVE, you will never work a day in your life!!!

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As they say "pictures are worth a thousand words" so below is just a snippet of the enjoyment we had at events that we participated in which added up to hundreds over the course of 5 years. We truly loved sharing our love of Comisario with everyone we met!

Don't think outside the box, ACT like there is no box!

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OUR POST-COMISARIO LIFE.

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After selling Comisario to Steve Rice and his partners, we signed on with select spirit brands to produce cigar and spirit pairing events.

 

The video below is a great example of an event we coordinated and managed for Brown Forman at Cigar & Spirit Magazine's Tasting Event in Newport Beach, CA. 

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Steve and his partners were also showcasing Comisario at this event; however, because of our long-standing relationship with Lincoln Salazar, founder of Cigar & Spirits Magazine, we were able to get Jack Daniels placed in the heart of activity for the best exposure and value. We were the last spirit booth standing while other brands packed up early due to no activity.

In 2013, we launched our event production company and focused on designing experiential events for the cigar industry. Below is a timeline of events that we designed and produced for the cigar industries Big 4: Drew Estate Cigars, General Cigar Company (Cohiba), Altaidis (Montecristo), and Davidoff Cigars.

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For a decade, we produced events that bridged the gap between the consumer and the brands via unique experiential events held at beautiful venues coast to coast. The level of passion in the cigar and spirit industries, from the master blenders and distillers making the best cigars and spirits in the world to the enthusiasts who enjoy discovering new products just as much as they enjoy drinking their all-time favorites...is simply amazing! 

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We have always been about making it easy for consumers to discover, explore, access, and purchase the finest products in the cigar and spirit industries, so we design experiential events that can bring that to life in person, where consumers can shake hands with and talk to the creators and visionaries behind these extraordinary brands, taste them and learn about them and ultimately buy them for their own home bar to enjoy and share with their friends, was one of those "experience the beauty" moments."

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Brand activation at all events: Guests had the opportunity to meet owners and brand ambassadors of the brands in person with a cut & light experience for photo and box signing opportunities and guests received a swag bag of gifted new and hard-to-find cigars from the brands.

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  • 2014: Cali Mega Herf Weekend ​

    • Bought out Madame Tussaud's Wax Museum on Hollywood Blvd for four hours for a weekend kick-off with a rooftop cigar and spirit party. The venue closed down the museum so that our guests could enjoy the museum at their own leisure. 

    • Chartered Fantasea One Yacht -- Marina del Rey's largest, most luxurious mega yacht boasting 4 floors to accommodate 250 guests for a 3-hour sunset cruise.​

  • 2015: Cali Mega Herf Weekend II

    • Bought out the entire rooftop of DTLA's premiere nightclub (at the time), Fuego, located across from Staples Center, and held a sit-down dinner at the Mexican restaurant located on the first floor of the building before a night of open-bar drinking and cigar smoking at Fuego.

    • Chartered Fantasea One Yacht for a 3-hour day cruise.​

  • 2018: Miami Mega Herf Weekend​

    • Bought out two venues for Friday & Saturday cigar events: Blue Martini Brickell & Casa de Montecristo Cigar Lounge Brickell

    • Chartered the Biscayne Lady -- Miami's 111 ft luxury catamaran boasting 3 floors to accommodate 350 guests for a Sunday brunch cruise offering a delicious brunch with a carving station and a 4-hour premium open bar on their 4-hour party cruise on Biscayne Bay.

  • 2019: Miami Mega Herf Weekend II​

    • Bought out two venues for Friday & Saturday cigar events: Island Gardens Restaurant & Lounge & Casa de Montecristo Cigar Lounge Brickell.​

    • Chartered the amazing Seafair of Miami -- a 222 ft, 6-floor, super luxurious mega yacht that accommodates 600 guests for a Sunday 4-course dinner cruise with a 4-hour premium open bar.

  • 2021: Cigar, Wine, and Spirt Weekend, Napa Valley

    • Bought out 2 wineries to host a sit-down catered dinner with an open bar for Friday and Saturday's cigar events:​

      • Brasswood Estate Winery​

      • Charles Krug Estate Winery

  • 2022: Liga in Brooklyn featuring Jonathan Drew & Drew Estate Cigars​

    • Bought out a rooftop Brooklyn venue with undisrupted views of the NY skyline​

      • Pass thru appetizers​

      • 4-hour open bar

      • Featured spirit - Elijah Craig

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Below are pictures from our events:

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