The Premium Cigar Association (PCA) is proud to announce the 2024 Step Up Awards, announced on March 24, 2024, at the PCA24 trade show. Later that same day, the first ever recipients of the Best of the Leaf Awards were recognized at a special awards reception held on March 24, 2024, during the PCA24 trade show and convention in Las Vegas.
“The PCA is proud to recognize so many in our industry who put forth a great deal of extra time, energy, and money to move our industry forward,” said Scott Pearce, PCA executive director. “Whether by curating a phenomenal shop, lounge, or bar experience, or putting in hours of work to advocate for specialty tobacco retailing, all award recipients showcase some of the best of our industry.”
Pearce also indicated the response to the inaugural Best of the Leaf Awards was even greater than he anticipated. “Not only did we have retailers from all over the US and even some from overseas submit applications, but to have over 10,000 consumer votes come in is a powerful testament to the importance of our retailers and the bond they have with their customers.”
Step Up Award Winners
The Step Up Awards were awarded by the PCA Government Affairs team to recognize retailers for their extraordinary advocacy efforts. “2023 was a monumental year for premium cigar advocacy and a lot of the success can be attributed to the group being honored with these awards,” said Joshua Habursky, deputy executive director of the PCA. “We hope that this recognition will inspire other retailers to become involved in advocacy and help support the industry at the federal, state, and local levels.”
Winners of this year’s Step Up Awards are as follows:
- Michael Frey – Cigar Box, Nevada
- Ken Weinheimer – Rocky Mountain Liquor, Montana
- Josh Evarts – Vault 1905, Idaho
- Paul Banducci – The Racketeer Lounge, Idaho
- Josette Dupree – Big Stick Cigars, North Dakota
- Nick Casinelli – Connecticut Cigar Co., Connecticut
Best of the Leaf Awards Recipients
This is the first year the PCA has held the Best of the Leaf Awards. This award program was designed to showcase the premium retail tobacconist industry across the U.S. The Best of the Leaf Awards, first announced at the end of 2023, launched with a nomination period that was open to all PCA retail members. By the end of December 2023, over 60 stores had submitted themselves for consideration. The PCA assembled panel of retailers and industry experts to serve as judges who reviewed all of the submissions and settled on 24 finalists. Each finalist was judged on their store’s aesthetics, merchandising, humidor selection/presentation, and customer service.
To help with the judging process, finalists submitted photos, videos and written descriptions that helped describe and show why their store, bar, and/or lounge was worthy of an award. The finalists, and ultimately the winners, were those retailers that took the time to create, shoot, and submit creative videos and photos that enabled the judging panel to see and grade each retail outlet on the four areas of good retailing. Recognizing the importance of the customers to tobacco retail, consumers were able to cast their votes for their favorite retailer during a two-week phase in February 2024. Winners were chosen after tallying the votes of the judging panel and votes earned from consumers.
Winners of this year’s PCA Best of the Leaf Awards are as follows:
Cigar Shop Only
- Norwood Royal Cigars (Chicago, IL)
Cigar Lounge
- Midwest – Diebel’s Sportsmens Gallery (Kansas City, MO)
- Northeast – The Tobacco Shop (Ridgewood, NJ)
- South – Industrial Cigar Co. (Frisco, TX)
- West – Cigar Mas Fino (Fresno, CA)
Cigar Bar
- Midwest – Final Third Cigar & Whiskey Lounge (Ingalls, IN)
- South – Cigarz on the Avenue (Winter Park, FL)
- West – Fox Cigar Bar (Scottsdale, AZ)
About the Premium Cigar Association
The Premium Cigar Association (PCA) is the leading authority and advocate for the premium cigar and pipe retailer industry. The PCA is dedicated to brick-and-mortar premium tobacconists’ current and future success. Founded in 1933 as the Retail Tobacco Dealers of America (RTDA), the PCA is the largest, most active, longest-running trade association representing specialty tobacco retailers and supporting manufacturers and partners in the industry. For additional information, visit premiumcigars.org.