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TOBACCO BUSINESS INTERNATIONAL
MARCH/APRIL 2016
silent partner Roy Lichtenstein. It is also
the point from which other stogie sellers
can learn. Here are some of the strategic
ways The Cigar Cave keeps a flourishing
cigar business in a small town:
• Establish a cigar club.
The club is
why silent partner and “best customer”
Lichtenstein is “passionate about this
business,” he says. For $150 a year, Cigar
Cave members receive two free cigars a
month and a walk-in humidor to keep
their cigars in, along with a 10 percent
store discount and invites to monthly
events. Clubs establish loyalty and act as
the starting point for a cigar customer
database.
• Once a month, hold a “smoke-out,”
with club member invitation.
In some
cigar store circles, this is simply known
as the monthly cigar event, but The
Cigar Cave holds two events a month
(see the “pairing” bullet below). It refers
to the event as a “smoke-out” because
there are zoning laws that do not allow
smoking inside the store/building, so
it utilizes varying outdoor venues, such
as the Grants Pass Convention Center,
golf courses and restaurant decks, to
attract club member customers (at press
time there were 135 “cigar of the month”
members) to enjoy a cigar with drinks
and dinner.
• Just as regularly, but more
exclusively, hold a pairing event
with limited invitation.
This is where
it can really get creative—and exclusive,
drumming up even more excitement.
The Cigar Cave regularly holds cigar-
pairing events with local vineyards,
liquor distributors and even a chocolate
company. Bingaman typically looks
to pair three beverage samples with
two cigars. Ahead of the event, he will
personally try out different pairings and
pick what he believes matches up best.
While the monthly cigar smoke-outs
are for club members only, the pairing
events are open to the public, but there
is a cutoff of only 20 people, which fills
up fast. “Twenty is my number because
that’s a box of cigars, and a 750ml
With a strong commitment to social media, the southern Oregon cigar
retailer attracts a diverse group of customers, both in age and culture,
at its cigar and pairing events.
The Cigar Cave partnership
trio (from left) Gerrin Beck,
Marv Ransom, and Jesse
Bingaman take a proactive
approach to selling cigars
in a small town.