PCA Magazine Fall 2019

PREMIUMCIGARS.ORG SEPTEMBER-OCTOBER 2019 | PCA The Magazine 55 goal, Los Caídos gives $1 fromevery cigar sold to Life of a Ridetime, a 501(c) (3) nonprofit organization benefiting familymembers of fallen police officers and firefighters, and other organizations that serve the same purpose. In creating the cigar, Zengel didn’t think long before reaching out to Paul Palmer, president of Aganorsa Leaf. “As a retailer, I liked a lot of the stuff they were putting out, mostly their own, under the Casa Fernandez label,” he explains. “I carried other brands they manufactured at the TABSA factory and STEVE ZENGEL worked for Scott Regina at Emerson’s Cigars in Hampton, Virginia, in 2012. His work there eventually inspired him to open his own premium tobacco shop. Zengel says his time at Emerson’s was crucial to understanding the business. Here are three key lessons he learned. THE FIRST: In order to really sell something and provide value- added service, you had to smoke it first. So I did. When I opened my first paycheck [at Emerson’s], I vaguely recall owing him money. I didn’t know they had employee pricing and I smoked every gosh dang thing I could. That was funny, but Scott was huge on his staff being knowledgeable, and he was adamant and relentless on exceptional customer service. And his staff reflected that culture. THE SECOND was when we had a discussion around the profitability per square foot (each tile) in the newly designed Hampton location because I had asked why such a smaller footprint given his much larger space in Virginia Beach. We talked about rent, consumer time in each chair, average consumer spending, etc. He tracked it religiously through a powerful customer relationship management program. Seeing that system at work was the first time I really saw data-driven decision-making at work. THIRD, and probably the most important to me, after losing my entire shop to Hurricane Sandy, Scott and I spoke on the phone (he was born in Freehold, New Jersey, about 30 minutes from my shop in Seaside). So knowing the area, he had a pretty good idea of what might have happened to me with Sandy. He asked what I needed. I told him a whole shop. He chuckled and said, “No really, what do you need?” to which I responded, “Scott, I’m serious. I need a whole new shop.” A few weeks later he sent everything I needed to open a new shop including pipe starter kits, SNUS and the accompanying refrigerator. I mean you name it, it was in there, among a host of cigar brands and lines. All that was sent with it was a note that read, “Pay me when you can. Good luck!” It took a lot longer than I expected or wanted it to, but he was more than patient with me, and I paid him back. Learning the Ropes: Lessons from an apprenticeship I liked those, too. I just always preferred their own label. Because I initially didn’t have the time to go to Nicaragua while as a high school vice principal—I’ve been to Nicaragua since resigning to focus on Los Caídos full time—I told Paul what I liked smoking and what I was looking for in a cigar; that it had to be strong enough for the everyday cigar smoker yet mild enough for someone who simply wants to partake in a ceremonial light up to remember a loved one he/she lost.” When Zengel went down toMiami to meet Palmer at theirMiami factory, he was presented with a huge selection to sample until he found the perfect one. “I absolutely loved it,” says Zengel. “It perfectlymet the challenge of being on the lower end of amedium-bodied smoke that was full of flavor. That cigar is Los Caídos.” The cigar is 100 percent Nicaraguan puro fromEstelí and Tabacos Valle de Jalapa S.A. (TABSA), using 100 percent Aganorsa leaf. To determine which funds go where, Los Caídos offer two choices: Los Caídos Blue and Los Caídos Red. The blend is the same for both cigars. The only difference is the wrapper. When someone chooses the Los Caídos Blue (blue band), proceeds go to supporting familymembers of fallen police officers. When someone chooses the Los Caídos Red (red band), proceeds go to supporting familymembers of fallen firefighters. To further his mission and raise awareness of the cigar and the charity, in 2016, Zengel decided to hop on his Harley-Davidson and set off on a 15-day, cross-country, roundtrip ride fromNew Jersey to Los Angeles. “Everyone in the world said I was nuts, that there was no way I could do almost 7,800miles in 15 days. I thought that because I planned it out on paper using GoogleMaps all would be just fine. I tell people who ask over a beer it was the dumbest f***ing thing I’ve ever done,” he says. Despite the challenging circumstances—averaging 500 to 600miles daily, encountering snow, ice and closed roads coming down a mountain near Denver, severe winds and overturned tractor trailers in Albuquerque, andHurricaneMatthew in Savannah, Georgia, he says it was worth it because hemet hundreds of people to raise awareness for his cause. Amodified awareness ride in several locations throughout the year has nowbecome an annual event. This year, for example, Life of a Ridetime has 11 scheduled rides, some of which already took place this summer, and withmore on the books, including Phoenix, Atlanta, San Diego andMiami ( lifeofaridetime.org ) . With each ride and each cigar sold, funding and awareness grows. Zengel says: “I maymiss my goal of amillion in a year, however, I will get to a million. I don’t care how long it takes. I’mgetting there.” L O S C A Í D O S