Albuquerque, New Mexico. Stag Tobacconist. Biggest pipe/pipe tobacco selection in town, a humidor for cigars and a decent smoking lounge. Very friendly also. 
Best Pipe Shop In Your Area
- Thread starter milehighpiper
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Here in northern Illinois. There's Tinder Box 20 miles west of me in Rockford and Arlington Pipes & Cigars 40 miles east of me in Arlington Heights. Iwan Ries in Chicago is 60 miles away and I have yet to visit.
I visit Tinder Box most often due to the convenience. The owner is super friendly and I'll stop in to purchase pipe cleaners and some Sherlock's Choice and Philosopher, both English blends.
I visit Tinder Box most often due to the convenience. The owner is super friendly and I'll stop in to purchase pipe cleaners and some Sherlock's Choice and Philosopher, both English blends.
There's quite a shop in the Palm Springs, CA area. Cannot recall the name of it OR the actual city it's in. 29 Palms? They had a good sized estate section.
Sanctuary Tobacco Shop in San Luis Obispo, CA is one that I visit when I'm at the coast. Small shop with a decent selection of pipes and a modest assortment of tobacco. I just bought another meer there this last weekend. Great little smoking lounge upstairs, good people, mostly regulars but they are very freindly.
Here in Vegas the best store is Tobacco Leaf. The Lake Mead Blvd store has a wider selection of pipes/blends. The one on Rainbow and the 215 has a lesser selection, but a really nice not often crowded lounge area.
Sorry to say that there is nothing in the Richmond, VA area. The nearest "Pipe Shop" would be CVille Smoke Shop in Charlottesville, about an hour and a half away. We do have four Havana Connections in Richmond, but they are more for the Cigar lover. They have trimmed down their pipes to just a few wall selections and house blend tobaccos. (Lane Limited with their name on the jar). Only a few Old Shenandoah tins of tobacco and from what the gentleman working there told me, once they are gone, they will not be ordering anymore.
Denver here... I'm partial to Edward's. I have heard that Stags in Colorado Springs is good but haven't ventured down for it yet
In Milwaukee, thank heavens, we've got Uhle's!! I'm not a regular, but I'm kind of starting to be one since I started smoking pipes recently. It's been around forever (1930s?), very old school, and it's a really nice spot to enjoy a smoke. The people are fantastic - just as nice as could be. It seems like most times I stop in, small groups of patrons are hanging out, having a smoke, a chat and a drink. They're kind of leaning toward cigars more and more (dynamite selection if you're into cigars), but they've still got a few pipe brands pretty well represented, and they always have 3-4 dozen good-condition estates - some good finds there. Not too many tins (20-25?). The main attraction is the blends, which go for around 9 bucks/1.75 oz. pouch. If I'm not mistaken, their 00 is one of the highest rated Burleys on TR, 4 stars from some very respected reviewers. I started smoking it at the owner's suggestion - he could tell what I needed before I could. That kind of place.
In terms of inventory of pipes and pipe tobacco, here in the Chicago area (and probably the entire country), the answer is obvious — Iwan Ries. Great folks there too. The one downside to IRC is its lounges. The free one I call the Penalty Box. It feels like the waiting room of a 1960s dental office. The real lounge is $15/day — even if you’ve just bought a $700 pipe. Such is the price of doing business in Chicago’s Loop.
A place that strikes a great balance and is my favorite place to hang with pipe smoking buddies is over an hour from where I live, but worth the trip. Arlington Pipe and Cigar in Arlington Heights. The owner, Chris, is an incredible host. The lounge is in the middle of the store with large leather chairs and coffee tables. Free-will donations are accepted for pop, snacks, and coffee. There’s usually customer-donated booze for the taking. Chris has a pretty nice selection of pipes, although a couple recent CPCC meets there have depleted his high-end options. But his stock of tinned tobacco is really excellent for a local B&M store. I never have a problem finding something for my courtesy purchase.
A place that strikes a great balance and is my favorite place to hang with pipe smoking buddies is over an hour from where I live, but worth the trip. Arlington Pipe and Cigar in Arlington Heights. The owner, Chris, is an incredible host. The lounge is in the middle of the store with large leather chairs and coffee tables. Free-will donations are accepted for pop, snacks, and coffee. There’s usually customer-donated booze for the taking. Chris has a pretty nice selection of pipes, although a couple recent CPCC meets there have depleted his high-end options. But his stock of tinned tobacco is really excellent for a local B&M store. I never have a problem finding something for my courtesy purchase.
Aforementioned Pipes by George in Raleigh, N.C., is distinguished by having a smoking table in the pipe and pipe tobacco area, with ashtrays and sometimes samples, and often a lively group of pipe and cigar smokers. There is no charge, but most smokers are customers. Even if you are quietly shopping pipes, the conversation is usually pretty interesting. By contrast, the Tinderbox in the big Crabtree Valley Mall prohibited smoking because of mall rules, and after decades they either moved to a new location or closed, and I think the franchise opened in a Durham shopping mall, whether under the same management or a new one. There is or was a pipe shop in the suburb of Cary, and I bought a pipe from their table at the TAPS pipe show, but I have never made it to their shop. When I have the time to do a pipe shop run, I support Pipes by George, since I am a long-time if not so frequent customer. I grew up in Chicagoland, but was never a pipe smoker growing up. I've never been to Iwan Ries but did plenty of business with them online over the years and have some of their long-ago Benton-made house pipes and other brands from them. My own near-northwest side Chicago suburb had the Park Ridge Pipe Shop for decades. It became the center for counter-culture kids, but that was after I'd left town. I tended toward sports jackets with no tie, wanting to be a melding of Mike Royko and e.e. cummings.
Yes, that's it's. Funnily, I just uncovered a bag of Penzance with their name and price tag on it.
Columbus, Ohio - The Tinder Box at Karric Square (not the one at Easton). Lots of nice pipes & tobaccos for sale, and they usually have Esoterica blends in stock. They won't ship them. Walk in customers only. They have some comfortable chairs and smoking is allowed and encouraged. The manager, Mike, is a great guy and very knowledgeable. Wonderful shop!
Cigar & Tabac in Overland Park, Kansas (Kansas City area) is one of my favorites. Here's a link (Cigar & Tabac Ltd.) to their Website.
Memphis TN. We have more “glass” pipe shops than churches and Walgreens. No tobacconist though. Have to drive 3 hours east to Nashville. Half a dozen very good shops there. The folks at Uptons are great. And The Briar Works is nearby.
On a side note, we do have an actually very cool Bass Pro Shop downtown. Then drive 1 mile in any direction and there will be a shooting!
+1 for Arlington in Chicago. Craiginthecorn hooked me up with them. Great people!
On a side note, we do have an actually very cool Bass Pro Shop downtown. Then drive 1 mile in any direction and there will be a shooting!
+1 for Arlington in Chicago. Craiginthecorn hooked me up with them. Great people!
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