Commentary: Welcome to the Shop

For some smokers, the best thing to see in a cigar shop is a humidor the size of Wyoming with more facings than an LAPD mug book. Others relish a lounge that combines the ambiance of the Gilded Age with modern day big-screen TVs.

My favorite sight? It’s one I‘m sorry to say I spot only occasionally: a group of young smokers enjoying themselves. It makes me optimistic. More often, though, I find myself in a room with people much closer to my age, which is anything but young. (Young is, of course, a relative term. When I use it, I’m thinking of those up to about 35 years old.)

That worries me. Because even though numerous cigar manufacturers and brand owners appear to be working overtime to attract younger smokers, the same doesn’t seem to be true for the majority of cigar shops.

I can’t help but wonder whether there’ll be smokers to keep them going after the Grim Reaper cuts down the current crop of patrons.

As I pondered this state of affairs, I decided to consult with a few experts, including Heather Haddad, whose Fumée Cigars is just outside Austin, Texas. She is not only a young (29) entrepreneur, she’s also among the most thoughtful shop owners I know.

She said Fumée attracts a fair number of younger smokers, though they’re frequently drawn by hookah. “Occasionally they will deviate from the hookah and get a flavored cigar (this is age range 18-21),” she wrote me in an email. “In the 22-35 age range, we have a minority, but they tend to be one-off type customers that come in for an event.”

Appealing to a wide spectrum in almost any venture is tough; although no one talks about the “generation gap” these days, it still exists.

“A perfect example is the music at my shop,” Heather noted. “The older guys want something softer with the volume down low, and the younger guys want some more upbeat music at a louder volume. Someone won’t get their way. In some cases these groups can coexist fine, but other times not.”

Some of Heather’s observations can be taken to heart by cigar fans in my demographic.

“An older regular taking a 20-year-old new smoker under their wing can go a long way to making that young person a lifelong cigar smoker,” she explained. “Educating new smokers of any age is also a great tactic to really draw them into the mystique of cigars. Keeping your store a positive one, without negativity or cliques, is key to new smokers feeling welcome.

“Shop owners should feel free to experiment (new events, new cigars, louder music) until they find something that clicks with the old guard and the new guard. It is worthwhile to spend some time on this because younger ‘spend $5/week‘ smokers are your bread-and-butter regulars ten years from now.”

Sounds like good advice, and I hope it gains traction. Some of it might not appeal to me (that loud music, for instance). But then again, I’m beyond the target.

–George E

photo credit: Flickr