BAY HARBOR, FL-Mike's Cigars was founded in 1950 at 465 Arthur Godfrey Road in the heart of Miami Beach by a smiling, fast-talking, young merchant named Mike Mersel - a former pushcart salesman from Brooklyn, New York. For over three decades, Mike, who celebrates his 89th birthday this year, oversaw what became the South's largest retail cigar outlet. He still goes to work every day to oversee the company's financial operations, although he officially retired in 1985 - the year a young executive from General Cigar Company caught his attention - Oscar Boruchin.

Born in Havana, Cuba, Oscar Boruchin came to Miami with his family in 1961, taking a job as a taxi driver to support his family. One day, as he was driving a fare from Cuba from the airport, he accepted a box of Cuban cigars in exchange for payment they were unable to afford. That very same day, he drove to Miami Beach and sold the cigars to a local tobacco shop for $10, launching a whole new career that has continued to flourish to this very day.

Each day, Oscar would drive to the airport to purchase 10 to 20 boxes of Cuban cigars, the only item Castro would let out of the country at the time, then go into Miami Beach to resell them to local tobacconists. The money was better than driving a cab, and everyone off the planes from Cuba was willing to sell their boxes right away to make some fast cash. Soon, Oscar was buying more cigars than he could sell locally, so he expanded his market base and began traveling all the way to New York to sell his precious Cubans to Danny Blumenthal form Villazon and Co.

When he had finally established a profitable shipping business, Castro banned people from carrying cigars out of Havana. With his supply cut off, Oscar decided to purchase a tobacco stand in a popular pharmacy on the corner of Alton Road and Lincoln Road. One stand turned into two; this time the location was the famed 5th Street Gym on Washington Avenue where Cassius Clay (later known as Mohammed Ali) and other boxers used to practice. One day, an executive from General Cigar Company, the manufacturer of Macanudo and Partagas cigars, stopped by, and offered him a full-time job complete with company car and tuition assistance. He couldn't turn down the car, and the next day, he was an official supermarket man with General Cigar Co.

At the time, all supermarkets sold cigars, so Oscar began his corporate career sweeping aisles and floors all around South Florida. He stayed with General for 22 years and by the time he left, was the company's regional manager in charge of one third of the United States, including the Caribbean, Puerto Rico and all of the islands. It was in 1981 that Mike Mersel approached Oscar Boruchin, a young, rising executive with General Cigar Co.

After three decades in the cigar business, Mike was looking to retire and wanted Oscar as his heir apparent. Always able to spot a great opportunity, Oscar signed on with Mike and for the next four years became Mike's stockboy, salesman and invoice writer. With his previous experience and contacts from General Cigars, he helped grow the company from a local storefront selling people their favorite smokes to a first-class wholesale operation. With Oscar at the helm, Mike finally decided it was time to retire. In 1985, he turned over the reigns of his landmark company to his new president, Oscar Boruchin.

Within ten years after Mike's retirement, business has nearly tripled. With the help of Boruchin's senior vice president and son-in-law, Oded Ben-Arie, who he brought on board in 1992, Oscar jump-started the company's mail order business, which today, boasts close to 110,000 customers. When Oscar took over Mike's in 1981, the business was 95 Wholesale and 5 percent consumer. Today, the ratio is 50/50.

The company carries over 1000 different brands, including its flagship Licenciados, Bauza and 898 Collection. In 1993, Cigar Aficionado gave the Licenciados Toro, Mike's top-selling brand, the highest rating ever given a non-Cuban cigar. In addition to its flagships, the company stocks about 10 million cigars in its inventory on any given day.

With so much growth and activity, Oscar felt it was necessary to move the company to a new, larger location. Five years ago, they relocated to a two-story building located at 1030 Kane Concourse in Bay Harbor. Since that move, sales have practically doubled, and the company is now selling between 25 - 30 million cigars a year. The move also has enabled the company to expand its product line to include an extensive accessories collection housed within a boutique on the main floor, offering sundries such as cutters, lighters, cigar pouches, ashtrays, and humidors, imported from France, Italy and Spain.

Mike's Cigars is located at 1030 Kane Concourse in Bay Harbor. Store hours are Monday to Friday from 8:00 a.m. to 6:30 p.m. For a free catalog, call Mike's toll-free hotline at 800-962-4427.