PCA Magazine Winter 2020

PREMIUMCIGARS.ORG WINTER 2020 | PCA The Magazine 47 tend to gravitate. For example, Stephen Amacher, our Pipe Evangelist, is incredibly passionate about pipe tobacco and pipes. He does a great job of mentoring me and the staff, and knows how to pick the right products.” She also relies on the store’s Cigar God, TomBrown, who advises her on which lines of cigars to add to their humidor. Fenner herself is an avid cigar smoker and her 18 years as a tobacconist have earned her the well-deserved moniker of Cigar Goddess. She’s also very knowledgeable about pipes and tobacco. “I like to be true to myself. There’s no way I can know everything,” she says. “So I surround myself with people who can help me with whatever it is that I need. Don’t be ashamed to not know something. To me, that’s the path to success.” That formula appears to be working. Stag is thriving, in part due to the large military community in Colorado Springs. It’s home to the Air Force Academy and several other military installations. Fenner notes that Colorado Springs is very much a military town. “We have five bases here, and all of the service men and women, and the contractors that go into those bases. It’s the military that helped to drive our business.” To support that customer base, the store features a well- stocked and, to some extent, traditional mix of products. Among the top sellers are cigars by Arturo Fuente, Padron and Rocky Patel. Stag also does very well with boutique lines such as Leaf by Oscar, and popular brands like La Flor Dominicana “ ” DON’T BE ASHAMED TO NOT KNOW SOMETHING. TO ME, THAT’S THE PATH TO SUCCESS.”