A Whole Lot of Shaking Going On
-
Kevin Godbee - Mar 19, 2014
- 6 min read
Fred Brown
Two of East Tennessee’s most iconic retail tobacconists, Smoky’s Cigar in Knoxville, TN., and The Gatlin-Burlier Tobacconist in Gatlinburg, TN., gateway to the Great Smoky Mountains National Park, have been in business for more than 30 years each. Combined, the two shops have more than a half century of history and experience from which to draw.
Dave Watson, owner of Smoky’s, and Ira Lapides, owner-founder of The Gatlin-Burlier in the resort town of Gatlinburg, bring an astounding amount of business acumen to the table when it comes to pipes, tobacco and what the future holds for those who enjoy the fruits of their labor.
Watson started his career with the media entertainment giant, Anderson Media Corp., which was born in a wood shed in Florence, Ala., and grew into a multi-billion-dollar magazines and newspaper distributor. Today, based in Knoxville, the company is the leading entertainment media distributor to North American Wal-Mart and Sam’s Club locations. The company is also a product distributor to Army and Air Force exchange stores at bases around the world.
Watson, 60, worked his way up, literally, from sweeping floors, delivering magazines and books to retail stores, and, finally, to becoming a regional vice president. He spent 33 years with Anderson before retiring in 2006 to set off on his own and taking over Smoky’s, one of Knoxville’s oldest tobacconists, which had fallen on hard times.
Smoky’s was opened by its former owners around 1983 and operated until about 2007, when Watson purchased the store and inventory Jan. 1, 2007.
“I took two weeks off in retirement and then began working to re-open Smoky’s,” Watson says with a chuckle.
Dave Watson, Owner of Smoky’s Cigar
He didn’t look back. Beginning with no employees and $70 in sales the first day he opened, he has brought the operation a long way, moving from a 1,200 square foot shotgun-size retail outlet in a strip mall to a 3,400 square foot modern retail store that includes a 280-feet-plus walk-in cigar humidor and a 900 square foot “Squire’s Club,” for members only. A $250 membership gets you a locker (there has been a locker waiting list since the club opened). He is now thinking of expanding the humidor.
Lapides, a PhD economist from the University of Tennessee, brings an entirely different perspective to the table.
In 1977, after completing his doctorate and doing some teaching, consulting, and other work, Lapides began to itch for his own business. The opportunity popped up while in Gatlinburg with his wife on a relaxing weekend. He ran out of pipe tobacco and tried to find a good blend.
“I couldn’t find pipe tobacco in the entire town,” Lapides said. “I went back to the chalet where we were staying and told my wife that we were going into the tobacco business. I decided right then and there.”
That was 1977. Lapides said he emptied “out my savings account, got a SBA (Small Business Administration) Loan and went into business.”
His wife joked that the only thing Lapides knew about pipes and tobacco at the time was that he smoked a pipe.
“But, I had the capacity to learn,” Lapides said.
Indeed.
Lapides opened the Gatlin-Burlier in the top floor of Mountain Mall, one of Gatlinburg’s main shopping outlets on the main street. It has been there since.
Smoky’s Pipe Board
He began with a very small inventory. Cigars had not yet hit the boom years. He built a small cigar humidor, which was too large then, but now much too small to keep up with business, he says.
The Gatlin-Burlier has always been “a pipe store featuring more pipes than cigars.” It also features Lapides’ excellent blends. Cigars amount to maybe 20 percent of the business today and pipes and tobacco the rest.
The Gatlin-Burlier has 20 blends that Lapides created.
“What I’ve done is stuck with a few dozen or so blends that pretty much covers the smoking universe,” he says.
He must be doing something right in the tobacco kitchen because the Gatlin-Burlier sells about 1,000 pounds of pipe tobacco a month.
Watson, on the other hand, has been a cigar smoker since he was a teenager. Cigar sales at Smoky’s represent about 60 percent of his business, but Smoky’s has 70 bulk pipe tobaccos. Watson said he sells about 100 pounds of his premier “Smoky’s” house blend per month.
In addition, Watson has put together roughly eight more blends from his own and former Smoky’s recipe book.
But both Watson and Lapides see a dire future for tobacco in general.
Watson says his biggest fear at the moment rests with the Food and Drug Administration, which has federal control over the nation’s tobacco products.
He thinks the FDA will eventually step up its harsh regulations on B&M shops by restricting, say, a cigar buyer from entering the humidor to make his or her own choices.
“I can see the FDA restricting you from going into our humidor. There are plans to stop the decorative cigar box and they will limit cigars that actually get to market,” Watson says.
“Government and taxation will greatly impede (tobacco) retailers.”
Because pipe smoking is a small “niche” market, Watson describes it currently as a “flat line.” Older smokers, he says, smoke pipes. As for pipes, he says, most are not looking for the high-end pipes. Smoky’s does carry some medium-priced pipes, but Watson says he caters to “that guy who wants a Chevy or a Ford” rather than a Lamborghini.
Lapides says the recent tax increases on cigars, which has spread across the board to the individual cigar rather than on weight, “played havoc with the small cigar businesses in Tennessee,” he says.
“Tennessee’s gross domestic product is one of the lowest in the nation and its OPT (an annual privilege tax on occupations) on tobacco is one of the lowest state taxes out there.”
Because of this and other taxes, Lapides said “a lot of stuff fell out of the market. Several imports decided not to come into the country.”
At one point in the shop’s history, Lapides could ship chewing tobacco to customers. That is illegal now, he says.
But one of the crushing blows to Lapides is that he now sees the new FDA regulations as preventing him from the ability to sell his business in order for him to retire.
Squire’s Club
“The major thing done to my business is that it (FDA regs) have decreased its worth for retirement purposes.”
A 35-year-old firm, he says, “should provide a good retirement income in the open market."
“But the tobacco business has lost value.”
Although he says he hasn’t tried to sell the business yet, he believes the real opportunity to sell out may have passed.
“The FDA continues to come up with (new) regulations, which has ruined my retirement plans.”
"No", he says, back in 1978 when he began The Gatlin-Burlier, he never thought this day would come.
Lapides said he would have had to be “clairvoyant to know that the business environment (for tobacconists) would get as rough as it has.”
For that reason, he does not see a bright future for mom and pop tobacco operations.
Watson puts the situation in a more straight-forward way:
“You got your product on one hand, the federal regulations on the other, and the amount of markup you need to stay in business.” He shrugs.
It doesn’t take a rocket scientist to see that, with the big elephant in the room, there could be a whole lot of shaking going on in the future.
|
|
Written by Kevin Godbee
7 Responses
Smokingpipes.com Updates
72 Fresh Brigham Pipes |
84 Fresh Savinelli Pipes |
New Cigars |
30 Fresh AKB Meerschaum Pipes |
60 Fresh Peterson Pipes |
Recent Posts
Welcome to The Pipes Magazine Radio Show Episode 541! We have a pipe personalities packed show tonight. We’ve been running two different series with two different prominent pipe collectors and authors. We have “Inside Fred’s Head” with Fred Hanna. He is the author of the book, “The Perfect Smoke”, and known for collecting straight grain pipes. The other series is a follow-up to Fred, “Rich Responds” with Rich Esserman. Rich has penned innumerous articles about pipes and tobacco for several publications, and he is known for collecting quite large pipes. We’ll be featuring the final remnants of those two series all in this show. As if that’s not enough, at the top of the show our segment will feature pipe artisan Jeff Gracik with another installment of “Ask the Pipemaker”. Sit back, relax with your pipe, and enjoy The Pipes Magazine Radio Show!
Via Press Release – JACKSON, MISSISSIPPI – January 18, 2023 – For the past ten years, Jon David Cole, owner and operator of The Country Squire Tobacconist, and Beau York, founder of the podcasting company PODASTERY, have been delighting pipe smokers worldwide with their weekly podcast Country Squire Radio. Long time listeners have enjoyed uninterrupted weekly content from the podcast including the celebrated pipe tobacco focused series such as TOBACCO TALK, PIPE CULTURE, SQUIRE SELECT whiskey and pipe tobacco pairings, and PIPE SMOKING 101 as well as the newer series geared to bring the spirit of conversations had over a bowl of premium pipe tobacco amongst good friends such as HALF BOWL HISTORY, FROM THE LIBRARY, and FATHER TO FATHER. As they approach the 500th episode this year, Cole and York have decided the time has come to bring the show to its conclusion with a live recording at The Country Squire in Jackson, Mississippi. “The amount of content for and by the Pipe Community is higher than ever before with newer pipe podcasts, instagramers, youtubers and more” Cole said. “We have enjoyed our tenure representing and at times shepherding a section of the community, but it’s time to increase the spotlight to this next generation of content creators.” Cole and York have often taken cues from their listening audience who, over the years, have made several trips to the famed Country Squire Tobacconist shop in Jackson, MS. This practice has been dubbed a PIPE PILGRIMAGE by fans of the show who have visited the shop that inspired many hours of listening pleasure. “We want to finish strong,” York said. “There is certainly no better way to do this than inviting all of our listeners, who are able to make the trip, to the Country Squire for the grand finale of the show in a Pipe Pilgrimage like no other!” York explained, “we’ll have music, share stories, and record the final episode of Country Squire Radio together, all while enjoying a one of a kind Pipe Tobacco and BBQ pairing of epic proportions.” The Country Squire Radio Finale will be held at the Country Squire, Tobacconist in Jackson, MS Saturday, March 4th. Tickets are on sale today at The Country Squire Tobacconist (thecountrysquireonline.com) For more information, visit CountrySquireRadio.com or listen to the latest podcast “Episode 490: The Time Has Come” from Country Squire Radio (Country Squire Radio on Apple Podcasts)
Welcome to The Pipes Magazine Radio Show Episode 540! Our featured interview tonight is with Pete Prevost. Pete is a pipe maker and the President of the BriarWorks pipe factory in Columbia Tennessee. BriarWorks is a a pipe maker co-op with several other pipe makers, including Todd Johnson, who co-founded it with Pete. Brian and Pete will be talking about that as well as the up-coming 2023 Muletown Pipe Show which is held at BriarWorks. In a past life, Pete was the guitar player in the band Sanctus Real. Our music segment will feature one of their Grammy-nominated songs. At the top of the show, Brian will give us his comparisons between three different vintages of Sutliff’s Kringle Flake tobacco from the last three years. Sit back, relax with your pipe, and enjoy The Pipes Magazine Radio Show!
Welcome to The Pipes Magazine Radio Show Episode 539! Our featured interview tonight is with Matthew McCranie. Matthew is the third generation from McCranie’s pipe and tobacco shop in Charlotte, NC. Matthew tells us of the founding of McCranie’s by his grandfather in 1979. There’s a fun Florida connection including inspiration from Edward’s Pipe & Tobacco in Tampa, and some streets named McCranie in Lakeland. We’ll also hear about McCranie’s long-running, highly popular tobaccos, and how things have evolved from the early days. At the top of the show, Brian will give us a recap of his pipe trading from the Chicago and Columbus pipe shows. Sit back, relax with your pipe, and enjoy The Pipes Magazine Radio Show!
It’s far from a closely-held secret that for years I’ve had a bit of a love affair with the old, Celebrated Bengal Slices. I fondly recall my first experience with it in the late 1970s when, on one of my almost daily visits to Drucquer & Sons, a fresh shipment had just arrived. There it was, in its beautiful gloss black, red and gold livery, dramatically standing out from its peers, calling attention to itself from its perch on the shelf behind the counter. “What’s that, in the black tin?” I asked Ken, who had become something of a tobacco mentor to me. “The Bengal Slices? It’s great stuff,” he said, pulling a tin from the shelf and handing it to me, explaining that it was a Latakia mixture with a difference. The ribbons were pressed in blocks and sliced, so it had to be broken up to prepare it for smoking. “You have to pack it lightly, or it’ll clog the pipe and become impossible to smoke when it expands. It’s got a little bit of scent added to it.” That last bit nearly put me off it; I was still recoiling from early experiences with heavily perfumed, goopy, pouched tobaccos that smelled better than they smoked. But curiosity, as it too often does, had its way with me, and I couldn’t resist the singular beauty of that tin. I bought it, dropped it into my satchel, and off I went. Later that day, I popped the lid and was instantly captivated. The perfect slices, standing at attention in a tight array, dark and mysterious, almost glistening with the same hues as the tin’s lid — black, red and golden. The aroma was rich and bold, ripe with Latakia, orientals and virginias. The scent Ken had mentioned, which I’d taken as a warning, wasn’t at all overbearing, but rather soft and seductive, beautifully integrated with the tobaccos’ natural aromas. It transformed what was basically a “typical” Latakia mixture into something that seemed more luxurious, even opulent. Though still fairly new to smoking flakes at the time, and certainly inexperienced, I had developed a bit of understanding of them. These were different, though — thicker, more robust looking. I gently removed one from the tin, placed it in my palm, and began teasing it apart. It took little encouragement for it to crumble into small fragments. As I filled my bowl, Ken’s counsel about packing forgotten (more likely arrogantly ignored), I looked forward to the first taste of my new treasure. Disaster! The charring light almost went okay, promising something good to come, but the tobacco soon went out, and stubbornly refused to light. Trying to get an ember going was the equivalent to a futile attempt to set fire to a brick of asbestos. Frustrated, I dumped the bowl, and started again, this time heeding Ken’s advice, allowing gravity to do the work. Much better. Even at first light, it was transcendent. The richness of the tobaccos, pressed and fermented in cakes, already set it apart from its ribbon-cut peers, but that scent! Soft and diaphanous, it didn’t clash with the flavor of the tobacco, but somehow enhanced it, bringing another layer, greater dimension to what was already something pretty special, and it remained throughout the bowl, never shouting, but whispering its presence. I was immediately smitten. The next time I was in the shop, I bought three more tins, something I would continue to do periodically through the years. At the time, I thought this was a truly unique tobacco, the only thing of its kind, but I would find out years later that it wasn’t the first, or the only, and that its story was both interesting and infused with dram of controversy. And, as it turns out, the fires of that controversy ultimately forged this tobacco into what became something so very, very special. The Celebrated Bengal Slices was originally made by Sobranie House exclusively for James B. Russell (JBR), and first found its way to market around September of 1977. But, as early as the mid- to late-1960s, Sobranie were making a similar product for Joe Zieve’s Smoker’s Haven in Columbus, OH. Joe wanted to bring something unique to the market, something that hadn’t been done before, so he had Sobranie, who were already making the Haven’s renown Our Best Blend for him, press the ribbons, age the blend in cakes, and cut the cakes into slices. This was different from the more traditional form of flake tobacco, made from whole leaf strips, and resulted in a product Joe called Krumble Kake. It was his intention that this tobacco be compact, like a plug, yet easier than a flake to prepare for smoking. It was a hit, becoming one of the shop’s most successful blends for decades to follow. The controversy finds us in the late 1970s, when JBR contracted Sobranie to make something similar for them. Apparently, it was a little too similar to Krumble Kake for Joe’s liking, and from what I’ve heard, his reaction was predictably cinematic, possibly going as far as threatening to discontinue his relationship with Sobranie over the apparent infraction, so JBR and Sobranie were forced to change the recipe. Whether or not the leaf formulation was changed is unknown, but the changes certainly resulted in that elusive scent joining the party. The Celebrated Bengal Slices was born. (Interestingly, JBR did not register the trademark until March, 1979, though the blend did appear in their catalogue in 1978.) When Sobranie shuttered in 1980, licensing the production of their blends to Gallaher’s, both Bengal Slices and Krumble Kake, being proprietary products, were not transitioned to the new manufacturer. Production of Krumble Kake and the other Smoker’s Haven blends moved to G.F. Germain on Jersey, while Bengal Slices was transferred to Manchester Tobacco Company, where it was produced until 1991, then making its final move to Denmark’s A&C Peterson. For whatever reason, the Danish product didn’t hold my affection like […]
Welcome to The Pipes Magazine Radio Show Episode 538! Our featured interview tonight is with Rich Esserman. This is our third episode with, “Rich Responds” where we go back to a previous discussion with Fred Hanna, and Rich gives his take. Both Rich and Fred are prominent pipe collectors, researchers and writers on pipes and tobacco for several decades. They are both well-known and well-respected in the pipe enthusiast community. We’ll see where Rich agrees with Fred, and where he has his own take on different aspects of pipes and tobacco. At the top of the show Brian will talk about how to build up your tobacco cellar and what to do in the meantime. Sit back, relax with your pipe, and enjoy The Pipes Magazine Radio Show!
Great, great article, Fred. I haven’t been up to Gatlinburg since I picked up the pipe, so I have yet to meet Ira, but Dave Watson is a true gentleman. Dave greets every customer cordially and will listen to each request, whether it makes him money or not. And that is the definition of customer service.
Not affiliated with him, of course, except as a happy customer.
Great article! Next time I’m in Tennessee I’ll be sure to stop by one of them.
I’ve never been to Smoky’s, but I visit The Gatlin-Burlier at least once or twice a year. I’ve met Ira several times, he’s a top notch guy! That goes for Richard and the rest of the guys that work for him as well!
With all the BS surrounding tobacco in Washington, and at the state levels right now, it’s no small wonder that guys like these are able to even survive. It’s a damn shame that great shops like these are closing up left and right! I’ve been buying from Ira for more than a decade, and will continue to do so as long as he’s in business!
Long live the B&M!
How can Tennessee acquire not one, but two such great shops? I’ll keep those in mind when we travel South.
Our local B&M is for sale and we regulars are depressed about it. Things will change with the new owners and not for the better as far as we are concerned. I fear that we are entering a very bleak period for our hobby. So so sad.
When I’m in Gatlinburg, which is almost every year, I always visit the Gatlin-Burlier at least once and I have since I discovered this store after it first opened. I would hate to see it close. I would certainly miss seeing and talking to Richard whose always there to help you in your selection of pipes, tobaccos and cigars as well as others who visit.
On a side note I was taught in elementary school by his wife’s mother many years ago and attended school with his wife’s older sister.
I met Ira some time back and found him to be a very personable individual.
I would definitely recommend everyone to visit the shop while visiting Gatlinburg and the Smoky Mountains Park. You won’t be disappointed.
I try not to think about FDA regulations. It’s a frightening scenario.
It’s taking a substantial amount of time for FDA to figure out which regulations it will put in place, but I do believe they are coming; and when they do I have two words to offer: Black Market. Maybe those in the industry who wish to continue profiting from offering pipe related products could become the distributors or managerial personnel needed to bring the best of this market to their customers. As compared to now when they do so openly, why not become covert? I’m sure disinclination for such will arise as it would be illegal and involve penalty if discovered by law enforcement. The best response to that that I can give is that law enforcement is already fighting a losing battle given current staffing; how would they possibly take on these duties? Perhaps the feds would create an entire new agency of tobacco-policers such as they did with Homeland Security, the result of which has been training and paying those officials for airport security.
An off-the-cuff response that I nonetheless feel has merit in trying to analyze the coming tobacco future.