Cape Girardeau firm receives statewide recognition

Opening a new business is always a risk, and is never done alone. We had a lot of help from MO Small Business Technology & Development (Richard Proffer/Mary Pausell), First State Community Bank, countless patrons, and a great group of Cigar Club members. Thank you all for making this happen:

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. -- Fumatore di Sigaro, Cape Girardeau, is the winner of a statewide award for business excellence.

The premier cigar shop and lounge received a 2013 Excellence in Business Award from the Missouri Small Business & Technology Development Centers (MO SBTDC) and Missouri Procurement Technical Assistance Centers (MO PTAC) at a gala banquet in Jefferson City, Mo., on Jan. 30. The firm also received legislative resolutions at the Missouri Capitol from Senator Wayne Wallingford, District 27, and Rep. Kathy Swan, District 147.

Fumatore di Sigaro is one of 22 outstanding Missouri small businesses that received the award.

The annual awards recognize outstanding achievement in business management, government contracting, job creation and revenue generation by client firms of the two programs.

Fumatore di Sigaro has two components, a traditional retail store and a membership-based operation. Customers can buy anything in the store and enjoy a cigar in the lounge; members have access to the lounge, BYOB bar, their own personal humidor, 10 percent off all purchases and such members-only events as live entertainment on the patio.

Other stores sells cigars; Pietreface sells a lifestyle and an introduction to the joys of cigar smoking with classes on wine pairings, smoking events or instructions on just plain how to smoke one correctly.

It's all part of delivering what he calls the "affordable luxury" of cigar smoking to the area. Fumatore di Sigaro offers established brands, but what makes the business unique is its line of boutique cigars.

Pietreface, a lifelong cigar smoker and Richard Proffer, business development specialist, Cape Girardeau County MU Extension SBTDC, spent two and a half years crafting a business plan and researching such vital stats as area population growth, number of visitors to the Cape Girardeau region, income, age, race, gender and economics of smokers. They added what percentage of those individuals smoke hand-rolled cigars in the city, county and surrounding communities, across the river in Illinois and all the way up to St. Louis.

"So from all that, I knew there was a need," Pietreface says. "And I knew that from that need I could create a demand."

"Scott and I started working together in April 2009," says Proffer. "I knew immediately I wanted to work with him because of his enthusiasm, business sense and ability to communicate his desires. We talked about his idea for a cigar store/lounge and I was somewhat skeptical, but being somewhat of a cigar smoker and being around other regulars, I understood the concept. I also knew several cigar smokers in the area who often spoke about wanting such a place. He even understood pricing strategy, which reinforced my initial, positive thoughts."

After working together for about three years, Scott was able to open Fumatore di Sigaro, Italian for "cigar smoker." What Fumatore di Sigaro really offers, Pietreface says, is that most precious of commodity: time.

"It [smoking a cigar] is a moment of time you enjoy and look forward to, 20 minutes to an hour and a half that's all yours. No one can take from you ... I get a lot of younger men, aged 18-25. Theirs is a very fast-paced life. They approach me to get into the world of cigars, and I say cigars teach you to slow down. Sit down, roll over the thoughts in your head, enjoy your time, enjoy your cigar."

The MO SBTDC and MO PTAC are a statewide network of business technical assistance providers and educators who serve Missouri businesses with consultation and training in the areas of management, marketing, international trade, financial management, government contracting, technology commercialization and market research.

For more information, go to www.missouribusiness.net. Or call Mary Paulsell, director of communications, at 573/882-1353 or paulsellm@missouri.edu.