Slightly sad

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guitarguy86

Part of the Furniture Now
Jul 6, 2012
703
0
John T's Gifts, a small chain local to the California Bay Area, closed one of their few locations. My first interest in pipe tobacco. This particular location was located in Fairfield, at the Solano Mall. I would always walk in as a kid, because they sell other gifts and novelties like swords and jokes/pranks, etc., and every time someone would walk in or out of the humidor, I got a pleasant whiff of tobacco. After I was old enough, I bought from this store often. I was down in the bay area recently, and John T's was gone. I looked on both levels of the mall, as well as the map, but they were gone. Nice people they were. I bought my first tobacco pipe there, and I always had good times. They had quality cigars as well. Looks like there might be another location in Modesto or Fresno area, but that's about another hour from where I live, on top of two hours, totaling a three hour trip. Internet retailers are nice, but there is just one thing they lack: Being able to smell and see the tobacco before you buy it. Kinda like movie websites VS video stores. E-Readers VS bookstores. Getting a taste of something before purchasing it.

I guess all good things must come to an end.

 

koshersmoke

Starting to Get Obsessed
Aug 20, 2012
118
0
Yeah thats too bad. When any small business closes its shitty. I wish there was a place to go around here where I live. The closet place to find a good tobacco store is in Albany NY and thats 2 hours away. I like the idea of being able to pick up a pipe and hold it in my hand and get a feel for it b4 i buy it.

 

mluyckx

Lifer
Dec 5, 2011
1,958
3
Texas
Sad indeed !
Let me know if you need some other good B&M's in the area. I come to the San Jose area regularly and found some OK ones. But there's never one like your first :rofl:

 

sjpipesmoker

Lifer
Apr 17, 2011
1,071
2
San Jose has 4 that I frequent. Mission PIpe, Smokers Paradise, West Coast Pipes (they owned Knickerbockers in Palo Alto but they closed) and Edwards in Los Altos.
I remember always walking past Tinder Box in the mall and the smell would always captivate me. now you can't even find a tobacco shop in the mall,
There was one at Valley Fair where I bought my first pipe, the had some store blends and some decent pipe, nothing too wild, you basic "head shop" ashtrays, lighters, cigars and gifts but they ended up closing...

 

gwtwdbss

Lifer
Jun 13, 2012
2,945
16
53
"I remember always walking past Tinder Box in the mall and the smell would always captivate me"
Yea me too! Soon after that (since I was an underage 14 year kid and they wouldn't sell to me) I ordered a Pipe from the JcPenny catalog and had the pipe shipped to the store. I then just walked into the catalog dept a few days later, gave them my order number, paid, then whoo hoo, my first pipe!(Getting my first pouch of tobacco was a bit harder haha). I wish I could find that old pipe. I thought, I had a stash of old pipes somewhere and my mountain of boxed crap in the basement. I have yet to come across them though.

 
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