@jfreedy Ditto with @mapletop. If you find one, a GOOD one, please let us know. After 3 trips out there to visit my son and his wife, I still have very little to show for my efforts. Hopefully you will have better luck...
I'm sorry to say my local pipe shop Carrousel Keyer Tobacco Shoppe (Cincinnati Ohio) has closed it's doors. After 46 years and 8 months this wonderful shop with all of its patina and awesome atmosphere is now a thing of the past. The owner had to make the hard decision and I can't blame him one bit. He needs to enjoy some type of retirement. Just thought I would let anyone know who is on TPL that may have not been aware. Straus Tobacconist is still open downtown but the selection and service is nothing like Carrousel was.
There are a couple shops in different cities around me. I support the Tobacco Barn of Lake Forest, CA. It’s kinda far, but they have a good selection of house blends and name brand tins. The lounge is really nice as well.
So sorry @piperdave. So far I still have 2 B&Ms within 20-25 min. drive. Don't know how long they'll be able to hold on, but I frequent them as much as I can. In fact, I'm dropping by one of them tomorrow... Anyway, sorry for your loss...
Update from Nashville: it was over a month ago (been really busy lately) but I settled on Smokers Abbey in East Nashville. It’s a cool part of town experiencing some active gentrification. The shop was actively renovating when I stopped in. They’re expanding their lounge and adding a large bar so it will be an even cooler place to hang out. One of the other renovations will be the addition of a quiet room for reading. I think that’s a win for pipe people The pipe game isn’t strong. They have a few renamed bulk blends and some tins. I bought a tin of Oak Alley. But I thoroughly enjoyed chatting with Josh, the guy behind the counter. He’s working with a local church plant, so I enjoyed chatting with him (I’m an Army chaplain if the name didn’t give it away) overall, I would return but I suspect there are better pipe focused shops in town.
I was back in Charlotte at McCrainie’s yesterday and got to share a couple of bowls with Brian Levine from The Pipes Magazine Radio Show. What a great guy! Very personable and a wealth of pipe industry knowledge.
Here in the small, unassuming caliphate known as Connecticut, you'd be shocked to know that for one thing, tobacco isn't already outlawed (our overlords are working on it), but for another thing, there are two (say what?!), count 'em, TWO B&M shops that actually sell both pipes and tobacco! I've posted about the Owl Shop in New Have in another discussion in recent years, but there's actually another one in the northern reaches, Connecticut Valley Tobacconists in Enfield that sells both and also has their own cigar line and on premises rolling operation. As an aside, if anyone wants an anecdotal update on the FDA's impact on the pipe and pipe tobacco industry at a grass roots level, check out this video from Markwoods Men's Breakfast Club. It'll make your head spin.
Well, I finally made my pipe pilgrimage to The Country Squire this weekend. For those who don’t listen to the Country Squire Radio podcast, this 49 year old pipe shop is in Jackson and is the oldest pipe shop in Mississippi. I was on an Army Staff Ride to Vicksburg last week and learned that TCS was only 45 min away. No brainer... I HAD to go! I missed seeing Jon David but got to hang out with Carson and even “The Hurricane” along with a few other locals. It was everything that I hoped it would be.
@Londy3 - Nope, I’m in Charlotte today but leave tomorrow. I’m going to smoke a bowl with Brian Levine at McCrainie’s today at 5:00 if you want to make the trip to Charlotte and meet us there. That goes for anyone else too. The more the merrier!
@jfreedy I would love to make it to the Country Squire some day! I'm from Charlotte but that was before I took up pipe smoking. I'm 3 hours away from there now, but would love to make the trip one day to have a smoke with you if your up for business again and I happen to be off. Maybe one day!
I recommend Schwabs Pipes and Stuff in Lexington, Ky. Family owned and operated great selection and everyone that works there is former law enforcement.
@jfreedy oh shoot man! I would have loved to hang out for a bit. I got this message to late to plan for it. I am not on TPL that much anymore so I am sure I miss a lot of stuff. Hope you had a good time.
Hey guys, long time no post, but I have to jump in here to give a HUGE shoutout to Edwards Pipe and Tobacco of Tampa, FL.
I was recently at MacDill AFB for some training and took a couple of my religious affairs specialists (formerly chaplain assistant, or RP in the navy) to a pipe shop there. Wow. I did not expect a true old world tobacconist with multiple pipe smokers in the lounge. We got my buddy set up with a basket pipe which the owner buffed on a wheel and cleaned with some brandy to prepare it to be broken in.
Of course I bought some tobacco and accessories and we shared a couple of bowls. The next day we returned to smoke before our flight and they offered us free coffee and use of a private room. I relished one the conversations with some of the older regulars, many of them veterans or parents of service members. And I was extolling the glories of an old world pipe shop and the hospitality that is only found in places like this. I told my guys that there aren’t too many places like that around anymore.
If you’re in the vicinity of Tampa or can make the drive, Edwards’s will NOT disappoint.
Just saw this thread. If you guys are near Huntsville, AL, the Humidor Pipe Shop is well worth a stop. They claim to be the oldest shop in Alabama. They have a smoking lounge, and large selection of pipes and tobacco.
Ash & Ember "A Gentleman's Shop" is located in historic downtown Siloam Springs, Arkansas - about 20 minutes from my house in Springdale. Joe, the owner, is a great and fun guy. The shop is full of all the things Joe loves, mostly pipes and cigars (mostly pipes:) - And he is a real tobacconist who creates his own blends. He is always more than happy to let you try and sample of any house blend on the smoking porch. You can get a feel for Joe and his shop at his Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/Ash-Ember-A-Gentlemans-Shop-270342883131072/
The Cigar District is a brand new establishment up the road from me in Bentonville (yes, the home of Walmart). This is a VERY nice B&M that specializes in cigars and pipes (mostly cigars). They have an over-the-top smoking lounge and offer a couple of levels of membership with all kinds of benefits. Definitely nice to see this level of commitment in our culture. You can get a flavor for this very nice shop on their website: https://www.thecigardistrict.com/
I feel very fortunate to live in an area that has TWO great options dedicated to the propagation of the sacred leaf...
Comments
Anyway, sorry for your loss...
it was over a month ago (been really busy lately) but I settled on Smokers Abbey in East Nashville. It’s a cool part of town experiencing some active gentrification. The shop was actively renovating when I stopped in. They’re expanding their lounge and adding a large bar so it will be an even cooler place to hang out. One of the other renovations will be the addition of a quiet room for reading. I think that’s a win for pipe people
The pipe game isn’t strong. They have a few renamed bulk blends and some tins. I bought a tin of Oak Alley. But I thoroughly enjoyed chatting with Josh, the guy behind the counter. He’s working with a local church plant, so I enjoyed chatting with him (I’m an Army chaplain if the name didn’t give it away)
overall, I would return but I suspect there are better pipe focused shops in town.
https://www.yelp.com/search?find_desc=pipe+tobacco&find_loc=Seattle%2C+WA
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HF11zbG_ivc&t=216s
I am not on TPL that much anymore so I am sure I miss a lot of stuff. Hope you had a good time.
Un-freakin'-believable
I hope you bought enough for everyone! (said in my best grade school teacher voice)
The Cigar District is a brand new establishment up the road from me in Bentonville (yes, the home of Walmart). This is a VERY nice B&M that specializes in cigars and pipes (mostly cigars). They have an over-the-top smoking lounge and offer a couple of levels of membership with all kinds of benefits. Definitely nice to see this level of commitment in our culture. You can get a flavor for this very nice shop on their website: https://www.thecigardistrict.com/
I feel very fortunate to live in an area that has TWO great options dedicated to the propagation of the sacred leaf...