Mark Moore said his family's En Fuego Tobacco Shop & Cigar Lounge wouldn't stay in business if it was only about having a good smoke.

"We are not merely in the business of selling the cigar," Moore said. "We also sell atmosphere. It is a place to chill out, relax from the daily grind. Obviously, cigars pay the rent, but the place wouldn't be anything without the atmosphere, the friendships and the dialogue. It is a place to stop by after a round of golf and talk about your game. It is a stop on the way home to unwind. Come here and watch the game."

The shop, owned by Moore, his father, Larry, and his brother, Lee, carries any kind of accessory a cigar smoker might want—from humidifiers and ashtrays to lighters and cutters. En Fuego carries a variety of flavored smokes, such as vanilla, coffee and chocolate.

"The women love them," Moore said.

"Our cigars start at a couple of bucks and go up to $125 a piece," Moore said. "For the most part, the majority of our cigar selection is in the $8 to $12 range. It is kind of like going to CarMax and buying a car—the choices are endless and limitless. We've got something for everybody."

The Frisco location is one of three En Fuego shops. The first, in Rockwall, opened in 2006, with a second in Murphy in 2010. The Frisco shop opened almost two years ago.

The inside of En Fuego looks like a sports bar, but by law, no alcohol can be served. However, the shop keeps glasses, ice and mixers on hand, and customers are free to bring their own bottle.

"We really pride ourselves on our customer service," Moore said. "We know what they smoke and what they like. We know their names."

The design of the shop is primarily the result of Moore's other career. When he's not selling smokes, he is an architect.

In fact, the shop includes lockers for customers in their humidifier room. It is a place for them to keep their cigars and accessories, Crown Royal, scotch or even their favorite brand of matches.

"We want to make it easy for them to stop on their way home," Moore said.

En Fuego business philosophy

• "You can come in here, and it doesn't matter what you do in the outside world," Mark Moore said. "We have plumbers in here that sit down and are buddies with a doctor. It doesn't matter what they do. This is the one place in life where it really doesn't matter about your age, gender, color, religion or politics. The cigar is the great equalizer. You are all the same in here with your cigar."

• En Fuego stores their cigars in a room at 70 percent humidity. "That's the industry standard," Mark Moore said. Each shop has a back up humidifier in case the main one goes out.

• To help build customer relationships, En Fuego offers a frequent buyers program. The shop tracks the sales of any customer, and when they have bought more than $100, they get 20 percent off their next order.

6190 Frisco Square Blvd., Frisco

214-494-4688

www.collinbizforum.com

Mon. – Thu. 10 a.m.–10 p.m.

Fri.–Sat. 10 a.m.–11 p.m.

Sun. 1–9 p.m.