B&M Tobacco Shops are slowly going the way of the Video Rental stores. With the rising cost of running a business - especially one with a limited cliental - it's hard to keep your doors open. Couple that with the unfair competition from on-line retailers offering reduced prices for the same product - and in some cases providing the customer with the ability to skirt State tobacco taxes - it's no wonder we're losing many B&M shops. The closing of The Tinder Box a decade or so ago was the last B&M Tobacco Shop near me. We have dozens of Smokes For Less shops shattered about, but they only deal in cigarettes and a few cigars. The pipe tobacco is limited to one pound bags of products like Smokers Choice, Jester, Gambler, Vrginia Gold, and Super Value. It's even hard to find OTC blends like Carter Hall, Velvet, Half And Half, Sir Walter Raleigh, and Prince Albert. If I'm lucky there will be a few pouches of Captain Black Regular, but other Captain Black blends like Gold, Copper, Dark, Cherry, Round, Grape, or Royal won't be on the shelves. As much as I'd like to see an independent tobacco shop open up near me, I hate to admit it but I'd be hard pressed to pay double the price for the same blend I can get on-line. I've seen a 1.5 ounce pouch of Captain Black Regular selling for $11.00 at Walgreens and I can get an ounce in bulk from Pipes And Cigars for $3.16 an ounce when I buy four ounces ($2.91 if I buy 8 ounces).
Indeed a sad state of affairs. The closest shop to me is The Country Squire in Jackson, MS. I make the 200 mile round trip a few times a year, and never have a problem buying something there each time. Sure it costs more, but it's no bother to me as I want Jon to stay in business. It's probably the best shop for pipes and tobacco I've been in in 30 years. There is no substitute for the camaraderie with other smokers that you can enjoy there.
I recently stumbled onto what is the nearest thing to a B&M here in my area, and I'd never have walked in had I not found myself with some time to kill while my wife ran an errand next door to it. Lots of neon in the windows.
Turned out that this place had just about anything nicotine related from vapes, RYO, cigs, water pipes, etc. but it was surprisingly well-appointed inside and the goods were all top shelf. What I was pleased to see was a pretty nice section devoted to pipes & pipe tobacco as well as a walk-in humidor of the better cigars. The owner is a pipe and cigar smoker so those sections are his babies, even if they don't make the money of the other avenues, and pretty well stocked. We talked pipes awhile and he offered to order anything I needed that he didn't have in stock.
It may not be your father's B&M, but I'll take it in the absence of anything else.
Comments
B&M Tobacco Shops are slowly going the way of the Video Rental stores. With the rising cost of running a business - especially one with a limited cliental - it's hard to keep your doors open. Couple that with the unfair competition from on-line retailers offering reduced prices for the same product - and in some cases providing the customer with the ability to skirt State tobacco taxes - it's no wonder we're losing many B&M shops. The closing of The Tinder Box a decade or so ago was the last B&M Tobacco Shop near me. We have dozens of Smokes For Less shops shattered about, but they only deal in cigarettes and a few cigars. The pipe tobacco is limited to one pound bags of products like Smokers Choice, Jester, Gambler, Vrginia Gold, and Super Value. It's even hard to find OTC blends like Carter Hall, Velvet, Half And Half, Sir Walter Raleigh, and Prince Albert. If I'm lucky there will be a few pouches of Captain Black Regular, but other Captain Black blends like Gold, Copper, Dark, Cherry, Round, Grape, or Royal won't be on the shelves. As much as I'd like to see an independent tobacco shop open up near me, I hate to admit it but I'd be hard pressed to pay double the price for the same blend I can get on-line. I've seen a 1.5 ounce pouch of Captain Black Regular selling for $11.00 at Walgreens and I can get an ounce in bulk from Pipes And Cigars for $3.16 an ounce when I buy four ounces ($2.91 if I buy 8 ounces).
Turned out that this place had just about anything nicotine related from vapes, RYO, cigs, water pipes, etc. but it was surprisingly well-appointed inside and the goods were all top shelf. What I was pleased to see was a pretty nice section devoted to pipes & pipe tobacco as well as a walk-in humidor of the better cigars. The owner is a pipe and cigar smoker so those sections are his babies, even if they don't make the money of the other avenues, and pretty well stocked. We talked pipes awhile and he offered to order anything I needed that he didn't have in stock.
It may not be your father's B&M, but I'll take it in the absence of anything else.