With nearly 25 years of service in the state of Utah, Stogies has become a trusted name in the region and an iconic staple of The Beehive State. It’s become so popular that, according to Stogies’ general manager, Bry Jacobson, smokers often confuse other smoke shops in the area for the Stogies brand. But make no mistake; if it doesn’t have those familiar seven letters displayed out front, then it’s not part of the Stogies family.
I recently sat down with Bry Jacobson to discuss the past, present, and future of Stogies, as well as the company’s unwavering dedication to keeping the counter-culture alive, even in the face of strict regulations and ever-evolving standards.
“We actively search for happy, friendly people to employ. We have a strong dedication to learning about our product. No matter what our customers are coming in for, we can make sure they’re leaving with the knowledge needed to confidently use that item.” Bry explained.
Building a Legacy
Many residents in Utah are already familiar with the Stogies brand. They began with a single store in Orem in 2002, but quickly expanded to encompass five different retail locations throughout the state. Now, after a quarter century of business, Stogies is doing better than ever—even if they do still consider themselves a small mom-and-pop shop.
“Customers often comment on our smaller pipe selection, but it’s only smaller because we don’t have a ton of duplicates,” Bry said. “We also have the freshest products in terms of tobacco and chew, which is hugely important to our customer base. Spanish Fork actually sells more chew than any other store in the entire state of Utah. We have the best prices, so it’s guaranteed to be fresh.”
Although medicinal cannabis is available in Utah, recreational use is prohibited throughout the state. Because of this, the majority of Stogies’ business still revolves around tobacco sales—including cigarettes, chew, and nicotine vapes. Stogies does sell pipes and other smoking accessories, all of which are clearly labeled for tobacco use only, but their biggest seller has always been cigarettes.
“Our main product, from day one, has always been cigarettes,” Bry continued. “We don’t make any profit from them, but we sell more cigarettes than anything else. The next most popular item would be kratom. Kratom is a big item in Utah lately, but that’s also very heavily regulated with licenses and hoops to jump through. So we went from a handful of licenses per location to as many as 10.”
The Cost of Doing Business in One of the Most Conservative States
Utah is regarded as one of the most conservative states in the U.S., so it’s not surprising to learn about the strict rules and regulations that stores like Stogies have to follow.
“We jump through a lot of hoops,” Bry explained. “The products we carry have to be registered through the state of Utah. We have a license that allows us to sell that. In terms of hardware, in the state of Utah, although it is medically legal, it’s not actually legal to put fire to it. But we do carry devices for vaping, that you can vape flower, so we do sell devices for that. And that’s something we’ve always carried – pipes and vapes. We even carried the big tabletop vapes you used to see.”
Despite their success, Stogies still has to compete with other stores in the area, some of which might not be following all the rules.
“We’re being hurt by a lot of our competitors by selling flavored vapes out of their backrooms. We strive to be better. Customers talk about things they bought at another location that we don’t know. Stogies has become a household name in Utah, so everyone thinks that all shops are a part of the Stogies brand.”
The More Things Change, the More They Stay the Same
In most states, rules and regulations surrounding cannabis and smoking accessories tend to become more relaxed over time. For Utah, however, Bry doesn’t see things changing anytime soon. If anything, she sees local laws and restrictions getting even tighter in the future.
“They will definitely become stricter. In the 20 years I’ve worked for Stogies, regulations have never become more relaxed.” Bry said.
However, that won’t stop Stogies from celebrating their legacy and continuing to serve their customers. Not only have many of Stogies’ patrons become lifelong friends, but some of them have also had their own wares—from handmade art to semiprecious gems and stones—displayed on Stogies’ shelves.
“At Stogies, we try to be as professional as unprofessionally as possible. We like to have a good time and be goofs, but we follow the rules while doing it.”
