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TOBACCO BUSINESS INTERNATIONAL
MAY/JUNE 2015
A walk-in humidor is often one of the best assets a cigar
retailer can invest in. Making it notable and noteworthy
often takes the cigar-shopping experience up several
notches. How to do that successfully varies by store and
what it chooses to highlight. Here are three humidor
personalities which stand out:
A true cigar vault—
James and Sons Tobacconists in
Sarasota Springs, New York had the perfect space already
carved out for a humidor in its former bank building from
the 1800s—an old bank vault. And actually, there are two
of them: a main vault right inside the door, about 8 feet
by 15 feet, and an “old records vault” around the back of
the building, according to store owner Jim Kommer. Both
vaults still work; Kommer had the combination changed,
but he leaves the vault doors open for old-world effect.
While a separate and larger cedar-lined humidor is
utilized for cigar stock, the two bank vaults are utilized
as storage locker humidors for members with about 60
lockers total. Best of all, the bank vault humidors serve as
great conversation pieces and add flair to the store.
A million and counting—
Cigar King in Scottsdale,
Arizona takes advantage of its industrial location in
a serious humidor way. While the store’s large walk-
in humidor impressively stocks oodles of hard-to-find
premium cigars, perhaps its most impressive feature is a
sign that hangs in the humidor telling customers that if
they don’t see what they’re looking for, they should just
ask. That’s because across the parking lot in a nondescript
building is the “warehouse humidor”—a building that
is actually a huge humidor filled with row upon row of
industrial racks holding cigar boxes. According to owner
Mitchell Hirsh (also known for his high-end watch
business, pens/men’s grooming accessories sold at Cigar
King, and an online cigar business), the warehouse humidor
boasts over 1 million cigars—and yes, often customers are
invited to walk across the parking lot and pick up whatever
they can’t find in the store. It is a memorable experience as
excellent Yelp reviews attest.
Humid in the desert—
Cigarbox by FreyBoy Tobacco
in Las Vegas, Nevada is another humidor-noteworthy
cigar store located in an industrial area (this one between
the Las Vegas Strip and the city’s downtown area). Its
pristine humidor with every stick in its place is the first
statement to customers that it goes the extra mile for
humidor perfection. But beyond appearances, Cigarbox’s
store humidor (as well as its secondary “stock” humidor in
the back) both overcome their desert locale by switching
up the humidity based on the season and generally keeping
it in the low-to-mid-60s (which, it maintains, is the sweet
spot for cigar longevity). The store also makes customers
aware of its advanced water-purification system in an
effort to overcome the bad perception of Vegas water and
the “film effect.” The humidors’ blowers and system were
also picked for the way they could be maintained and
controlled, avoiding fluctuation in humidity, according to
a company spokesperson.
Humi-Highlights