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nothing of your initial value when you
decide to make it larger or to move to a
new location,” explains Blanton, who has
built humidors for far-flung locations
like London and Vietnam.
There’s also a cost-saving component
to embracing the modular concept in
that it generally requires no building,
electrical or plumbing permits. “It’s
freestanding and plugs right into the
wall; you just run a simple 1/4-inch
water line to the humidor to provide
water,” explains Blanton. “It’s evolved to
the point where people lease a space and
call us up and say, ‘Make me a store.’ We
design everything: where the safe and the
cash counter will go, whether they want
Internet cameras or automatic doors,
what kind of humidor they want, what
kind of lounge—a massive project.”
In some cases, customers simply
want the commercial humidification
system itself, so The Humidor Store
has started selling those as well. Today,
humidification modules are a thriving
business on their own, says Blanton.
“We have more than 9,000 of one of our
models out there right now.”
About 50 percent of The Humidor
Store’s customers contact the company
looking to outfit a new shop, while the
remainder are hoping to upgrade or add
an in-store humidor to an existing shop.
According to Blanton, many retailers
who call do so after experiencing problems
with systems they installed on their own.
In particular, retailers are frustrated
when minerals from the humidification
system settle on the cellophane wrappers
covering the cigars and make them less
appealing to customers. “We get a lot
of questions about the water supplies
Jim Blanton designs
a freestanding
humidor for a major
grocery store chain.
Sally Blanton and Bobby Lauver
verify that arriving raw
materials meet the company’s
high quality standards.
A finished walk-in humidor that The Humidor Store made
for Huntsville, Alabama-based Vintage Wine & Cigars