Meet Ciara Payan

We had the good fortune of connecting with Ciara Payan and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Ciara, what do you attribute your success to?
As the General Manager of a small team running a boutique smoke shop, the most important factor behind my success is my team. As Gordon Ramsey and John Taffer say, “You’re only as good as your team”, which I hold very true to the success of any business. Being a good leader means relying on your team to do their job well, training them, holding them accountable, having fun, and providing a positive work environment. Without those things, your employees will only see the business as a place to earn money, and may not share the same passion for the business as I do. Kettner & G Tabacaria would not the place that it is today if it weren’t for the great people that work there.

Likewise, the success of our brand is to provide the absolute best customer service and knowledge of the products we sell. These days, quality customer service is hard to find in employees, and it can be even harder to train. Here at Kettner & G, we pride ourselves on taking extra care in learning everything we can about the products we sell – from nicotine, tobaccos, cigars, CBD, hemp, kava, kanna, shisha, to anything else smoking-related, we know our stuff. When you have passionate employees who enjoy learning about our products, they excel in their customer service and truly care about what our customers are looking for while providing a high-end boutique shop experience. It is a fortunate business to be in, where we can take the time to truly listen to people’s stories, understand what their needs are, and help them find a product that gives results. Taking the time and care in relating to our customers gives a unique experience, and shows that we take pride in our work – very important for the success of our shop.

There are many reasons a brand is successful, and these are two of my favorite and most important factors in making Kettner & G Tabacaria a continued successful brand.

What should our readers know about your business?
Kettner & G is a curated, boutique experience focused on quality products and top-tier service, open late for convenience, and well-regarded by locals. Their brand stands out for combining an upscale atmosphere with friendliness, along with a unique product range. Within our shop, I am most proud that I have curated a shop full of unique products, and that we feature many other local businesses within our store. A few of our favorites are Rolling Wave Comics, Smashing Designs (they make excellent Padres-style hats), Ojos de Mota (roach wands), To The Tee – our official K&G merch vendor in San Diego, and Mary Jane Apparel. Another thing that I pride our brand on is that I put in a large effort into creating a community spot and local vibe. Being in a touristy downtown, San Diego doesn’t have many local residents. We are fortunate to be located in the Marina District, a great mix of tourism and local residents that we cater to. Kettner & G has put in the time and effort into creating different types of events to bring together those within our reach. So far this year, we’ve held trippy comic book release parties, a classic 420 party, comedy show nights, comic con events, and beginning in July, we are debuting our first ever Runner’s High Club, where each week the community will meet and do up to a 5K run, and then enjoy discounts throughout the store, prizes, and free samples of featured products related to wellness and health. Follow us on Instagram for the best way to find out about our products, events and more! @Kettnerandg_SD

Let’s say your best friend was visiting the area and you wanted to show them the best time ever. Where would you take them? Give us a little itinerary – say it was a week long trip, where would you eat, drink, visit, hang out, etc.
I can’t give away all my spots, but here are a few of my favorites:

-The Friendly
-Fall Brewing Co.
-Eppig Brewing Co.
-Mitch’s Seafood Point Loma
-The Book Catapult
-Vinyl Record Junkies
-Fernside
-Cuban Cigar Factory
-Werewolf
-Sunset Cliffs
-La Jolla
-Societe Brewing Co.
-Aero Club
-The Lion’s Share
-Lani Coffee
-Firehouse
-The West End

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
Shoutout to all of the local vendors that have partnered with Kettner & G Tabacaria in helping us succeed:

-The Lion’s Share, Our Next Door Neighbors
-Rolling Wave Comics, San Diego
-Smashing Designs SD
-To The Tee,San Diego
-Man Candy Beef Jerky, Pacific Beach
-James Ames Glass, San Diego
-Jack B Glass, San Diego
-Glass Act Glass Worx, San Diego
-Yeti Dabs, San Diego
-Mary Jane Apparel, San Diego
-Ojos de Mota, San Diego
-Opinicus, San Diego
-Cookie Makes Bongs, San Diego
-Hensley Art Glass, San Diego
-Vayu, Pacific Beach
-Krave Kava, El Cajon

Website: https://kettnerandg.com

Instagram: @kettnerandg_sd

Image Credits
Myself!