Today we’d like to introduce you to Ciara Payan.
Hi Ciara, so excited to have you on the platform. So before we get into questions about your work-life, maybe you can bring our readers up to speed on your story and how you got to where you are today?
I was very fortunate at a young age to know that I always wanted to be a marine biologist, and I worked throughout high school and undergrad to achieve that goal. I went on to become a Marine Scientist for the City of San Diego’s Marine Microbiology Lab, a dream come true in my twenties. During the seven years that I worked for the City, I experienced many wonderful memories with my coworkers and learned a lot. At the same time, I also faced several challenges like a toxic work environment between supervisors and employees that ultimately shifted my passion away from working in science.
Thankfully, being forced to be an essential worker during the pandemic helped me realize that the person I was becoming was meant for bigger and better things. After my time with the City, I took a year off, went to therapy, and searched for a new career. It didn’t take long to realize that I had the same passion for this one thing since college: beer. I went to UC San Diego for college and turned 21 around the same time that craft breweries such as Stone, Ballast Point, Green Flash, Alesmith, Karl Strauss, and many more started booming. I love telling people that I “grew up” in the craft beer scene because I really did. I was young and at the forefront of craft breweries exploding in San Diego, gaining local and national recognition. Since college, I found myself being a part of craft beer culture, only drinking West Coast IPAs, and finding a real niche community of amazing people. After all, these are some of the same reasons I fell in love with going to raves and festivals (and still do to this day). With breweries and raves, the sense of togetherness and community over a common interest creates something special that cannot be replicated and made me want to be very much a part of it. Gratefully with my passion, I worked for Insomniac Events for over five years performing harm reduction strategies to prevent overdose as well as being in charge of other festival operations.
For a few years now I’ve been fortunate to be a Beertender for some of the best breweries in San Diego – North Park Beer Co., Eppig Brewing Co., The Original 40, Mike Hess, and currently, Latchkey Brewing Co., while still attending a festival or two here and there. But now what? Hundreds of breweries have closed in the last few years, and the alcohol industry in general is facing challenges with rising operational costs and the lack of a younger audience that is no longer interested in drinking. With the market shift, I knew I needed more education if I ever wanted to succeed at doing more beyond the role of a Beertender, so I applied and was accepted into an Executive Master’s of Business Administration degree program through Cal State San Bernardino, and will be finishing up this fall. Coincidentally, It just so happened that I was Beertending for Mike Hess in Seaport Village in the winter of 2023-2024, and would walk down Kettner Blvd each night after my shift, and I would stop into Kettner and G Tabacaria. Now this wasn’t just your regular smoke shop; Kettner and G was a warm, welcoming place that provided a high-end boutique smoke shop vibe, but consisted of very genuine, caring, and passionate people who worked there. After a short time, one of the employees encouraged me to apply for a part-time job with them, and so I did, not thinking much about it. Sure I’m a proud stoner, and appreciate a good glass bong, but I didn’t have any retail knowledge or experience selling people products like cigars and hookah accessories. Without much thought, I took the job, and my life has just taken off since January 2024. Within 3 months I got promoted to the Assistant Manager position, and after another 6 months, I was promoted to the General Manager and am running Kettner & G Tabacaria all on my own, with such little prior business experience. Now all that is left is to continue building this business, finish graduate school, and keep on kicking ass in the entrepreneur world. My goals for this next year is not only to grow the business, but to continue developing your average smoke shop into an elevated, sophisticated retail experience when you visit us here at Kettner & G in downtown, San Diego.
I will finish by saying that achieving your dreams and dreams you never knew you had has been the most rewarding part of my life so far, and I cannot wait to see what else I do in my thirties. I’ve surprised myself in so many ways in the last year, and it only excites me for what else is yet to come.
We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
It certainly. hasn’t been a smooth road. I touched on it previously, but my time working for the City of San Diego was unlike no other. The level of workplace toxicity, poor management, and the inability to fire underperforming employees (due to union formation) was very evident in my department. The work culture was so toxic, that it it created a challenge for me to want to get up and go to work each day. It was an internal struggle to do the job, but at the same time it was difficult to leave the job. It was my first real job after college, it paid well and provided benefits, time off, etc. The fear of leaving the comfort of this type of job was hard for me as my family grew up really poor; so I didn’t want to leave a guaranteed paycheck. Unfortunately, I was forced to be an essential worker during the pandemic, where nothing about my work life changed for me while everyone else got to stay home. I developed extreme anxiety and was very unhappy. My mental health was the most important reason I left this career, and I do not regret any part.
When I was working for multiple breweries and distilleries at a time, it was very unpredictable in terms of getting shifts, a good amount of hours, tips, time off, etc. Unfortunately, service industry-type jobs tend to be part-time roles, where hours and pay are not guaranteed nor the same each week. This was very challenging for me because I had just separated from my husband, I quit my 9-5 guaranteed job, and now I have to balance working a lot to make ends meet. Last year in 2024, I worked 70 hours every week between the smoke shop and the brewery just to make ends meet. As crazy as it was, I thrived by learning a lot about myself, my work ethic, what’s important to me in my work, how I want to elevate the places I work at, and how I never want to continue struggling to make ends meet throughout my thirties. All of those days I worked, never having a day off, really helped shape the person I am becoming today.
I can proudly say I am down to 55 hours a week now.
Appreciate you sharing that. What else should we know about what you do?
I am the General Manager of Kettner & G Tabacaria, and our owner just opened up a European inspired cafe called The Tin Scoop Cafe next door to our smoke shop. Both businesses are ran by women, myself and Alyssa Edmond, the General Manager of The Tin Scoop.
Personally, I oversee the daily operations of the smoke shop, including assisting staff, managing store financials (budgeting, expenses, and sales trends), hiring and training, inventory management, social media, and event planning. Additionally, I handle payroll, taxes, and scheduling, and ensure cash flow is monitored with weekly deposits. More importantly, I specialize in creating a well-rounded and strong sales team. Being a small business with only 4 employees, it is crucial to being a great leader for my employees. The success of the business is not just on my shoulders, but also up to my team to be able to upsell, be personable, talk to any type of personality or temperament, and enjoy/be knowledgable about what they are selling. Every sale matters, every customer interaction matters, and that’s why having a good team is vital. I couldn’t do any of this without my wonderful team – Sarai, my Assistant Manager, and my team members Rex, Yonase and Mariah.
I would say what sets me apart from others is that I care a lot and I am excellent at my time management. I care about the business succeeding, I care about each employee and their success in/outside of the store, I care about our customers and how we treat them, I care about each decision I make for the business and how everything I do here at Kettner & G will shape me into an excellent business partner. Also, I believe that with my unique background in different types of industries allows me to provide a wide range of skills, and knowledge and can create successful business ideas from these past experiences.
I would conclude by saying that I’m never happy with the status quo. I’m always pushing to make things better and not just the same old thing as yesterday. If it works, I make it work better. Nothing is just a job for me, I tend to go all in with my work.
Are there any important lessons you’ve learned that you can share with us?
If I don’t love myself and feel complete passion for what I’m doing in my life, then there is no way I am going to be successful or happy. And, if I don’t continue to keep growing by discovering more of who I am and what I want out of my life, then I am doing myself and those around me a huge disservice. Love yourself, give grace for the mistakes you make, remain positive no matter what, and be willing to be vulnerable and show honesty. I’ve changed a lot in the last several years, but these things hold dear to me, and help me continue to be Ciara.
Contact Info:
- Website: Kettnerandg.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/kettnerandg_sd/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/KettnerandGSD/
