Shops And Tobacconists Gone But Fondly Remembered

[sablebrush52]

In another thread, I made reference to a tobacconist whose store I used to frequent that is long closed. I have some fond memories of pipes and cigars bought there. The store was Gus' Smoke Shop in Sherman Oaks, California. Gus' had a great selection of both estate and new pipes, as well as a fine selection of tobaccos. Their humidor stocked an equally impressive selection of fine cigars.

I bought a couple of Dunhills there that once belonged to Alfred Hitchcock, and a couple of Charatans that were once in William Conrad's collection. The man who played Cannon was also quite a collector of Charatans.

There was always new and interesting merchandise to explore, and the staff were always professional and cordial.

Who else has some fond memories to share regarding tobacconists of yesteryear?

 

[brian64]

I have no such memories to share, but I for one think it’s super cool that you have a couple of Dunhills that once belonged to Alfred Hitchcock.

 

[dmcmtk]

David P Ehrlich in Boston. I used to have tobacco delivered to me from them by the pound back in the late '80's early '90's. Real friendly folks. Still have about a half dozen or so of their pipes.

 

[tanless1]

Im impressed by the matt dillon's , for sure.

 

[ravkesef]

D. P. Ehrlich for sure. My relationship with them and their sister store, Leavitt and Peirce, goes back to the 60s. L& P is still there, but it's a pale shadow of its former self. They have a great deal more merchandise than just pipes and tobacco's, and the people who work there are not pipe smokers and certainly not at all knowledgeable about the hobby. You can still buy DPE, but it to his and like it was, since some of the Oriental leaf is no longer available.

My all-time classic, however, is Fred Diebel's in Kansas City – the first pipe shop I ever entered, in the early 1961. As a young undergraduate I was staggered by what I saw there, and it was Fred who introduced me to the finer points of pipe smoking, pipes and tobaccos.

 

[jerry]

I enjoyed visiting Mel Feldman at his classic shop, The Smoker in Albany, NY. Always an experience!

 

[lestrout]

Grant's downtown on Market Street in San Francisco. Everytime I visited the Bay Area, Grant's was a must-do. The people-watching out the window was something uniquely San Franciscan, and the regulars were always more interesting than the usual crowd at cigar B&Ms. I love their own blends.
hp

les

 

[condorlover1]

Having lived in NYC for about 20 years I only ever ran across a few pipe places. However in London so many great names have vanished to be replaced by god only know what type of store. To name a few there was Smith's Snuff in Charing Cross Road with a great selection of pipes and loads of period advertisings. Inderwicks in Carnaby Street which had been there for at least 200 years are a few that spring to mind. A good friend of mine tells me there a few great stores in Rhode Island and a couple in New Jersey and I shall certainly look them up when things warm up here!

 

[shutterbugg]

A-Square Tobacconist in Ann Arbor, MI. The proprietor was a friendly bearded chap named Buzz Winston. Used to stop in there every day on my way back from campus in the early 70s. Thanks to Buzz I was able to bypass the whole drugstore pipe and tobacco experience which curbs many a neophyte's enthusiasm, and educated me in high end pipes and tobaccos. In the beginning Buzz was partnered with Jimmy Edwards who owned another tobacco shop called Maison Edwards in the Nickels Arcade. That shop TTMOBK is still there although Jimmy is long gone.

 

[sfsteves]

lestrout said:

Grant's downtown on Market Street in San Francisco.

I liked Grant's and did a fair amount of business with them over the years. Time was, they had two stores in SF and the store on Post was the better of the two ... but, more than Grant's, I liked Sherlock's Haven on Battery, which was Marty Pulvers' place ... not only was it superior to Grant's, Marty is a true tobacconist and one of the more knowledgeable pipe guys of all time ... also, a long time back, Brian Telford had a shop in The Cannery that was top-drawer, but he moved to Mill Valley in Marin County ... he's still there and is perhaps THE pre-eminent tobacconist remaining in CA ... if you thought Grant's was good, go across the Golden Gate Bridge and check out Telford's ... he is like the sun compared to Grant's moon ...

 

[stbruno70]

I echo the sentiments regarding DPE in Boston and Grant's and Sherlock's in San Francisco.
In London, Dunhill's is now a clothing shop, but I do remember it in its glory days with the large wooden drawers filled with splendid tobaccos. The shop assistants were all older men smoking pipes and very knowledgeable. Smith's was another grand establishment in the old style.

 

[irish]

I have made reference to his shop before in another thread but Martin's smoke shop in Midland , Texas was my long time go to shop. I bought my first pipe there, other than my granddad's I inherited , I bought several racks and humidors and always bought his house blends . Mr. Martin taught me how to pack , light and smoke my pipe . He was a very unique and talented man. He and His shop are long gone. Then there was Potters smoke house in Odessa , Texas . Mr. Potter was not a pipe smoker but a cigar smoker but kept a good supply of pipes and tinned tobaccos. Mr. Potter was a veteran of the Korean War , the winner of Navy Cross at the Frozen Chosin reservoir . He became a close friend and gave me my first Peterson pipe . I still have it and miss our long talks about the military and politics . He passed away and his shop closed as he had no relatives to take it over . Now there are no true pipe and tobacco shops in my area , the closest one is three hours and it is not really a true tobacco shop but keeps a few pipes and a few tins of Frog Morton. So now I rely on the internet and this website . Pipes magazine .com has become my B&M . I thank all of you gentlemen for becoming my second family , my home away from home . Sorry to ramble but easy to get lost in the good ole memories . :puffpipe:

 

[foggymountain]

The old Dunhill store on Fifth Ave, NYC. It was in Rockefeller Center, across the street from St. Patrick's Cathedral. I was in a number of good tobacconist's half a century ago, but it was the best. The pipe counter was the first thing you saw when you walked in, onto a thick red carpet. It was on the front right of the main floor. The pipes were beautiful, and not nearly as expensive as they are now, adjusted for inflation. The service could not have been better. They still mixed tobaccos to order. The cigar humidors were on the 4th floor. Regular customers got free cigar storage space. You could telephone and have them add a few boxes to your humidor. They would unwrap them first for proper ageing, then charge your account a mere $1. per cigar. Don't cigarettes cost almost that much now? My humidor was right next to Governor Rockefeller's. And the store had those wonderful pneumatic tubes for sending things from floor to floor. (Not the customers. There were elevators for us. )

 

[ravkesef]

I forgot to mention Connoisser in NYC. Ed Burak took good care of his customers, mad wonderful pipes and superb tobaccos.

 

[foggymountain]

There was a pipe shop on Broadway, in Yonkers NY, called Vicar. It opened around 1957 or 58. The owners were Mike Elbaune and Ian McLaughlin. A congenial hangout where I spent many hours. Mike was a machinist who did the repairs in house. He put a silver (plated) band around my favorite pipe, which had a cracked shank. I am still smoking it. He charged me $3 or $3.50. Mike was a fine gentleman from whom I learned a lot, mostly not about pipes. I am sure the store has been long closed and it is likely that both owners have checked out. I would love to hear from anyone who knew them or the store.