The Wooden Indian Expeditions

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That nub stand display is pretty neat. Is it a trash can or table, something functional, or is it just a display?

It is just for display. I think it would go great in your living room.

FYI, a nice article on cigar store indians I found a while back (pdf): http://www.evanschuman.com/clips/Americana.pdf

Thanks for the article. The expeditions are really more about cigar shops as a gathering place and their role in the larger cigar community. It's too easy to forget the value of being part of that community. I thought this would encourage our members to take a closer look at their local B&M's and enhance their appreciation of the industry. Sorry for the blah, blah, blah philosophy. Anyway, thanks again.

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Is That a Fact? # 3: American Indians did not typically wear metallic suits of armor.

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Shop: Three J’s Cigar Emporium (one of two locations)

Location: Davie, Florida.
The shop is in a strip mall on Griffin Road, just West of University Drive.




Wooden Indian: No. But they did have an Excalibur suit of Armor.



Atmosphere: John has run this shop along with his partners for many, many years. To me, he is the epitome of the old-school hometown shopkeeper. He knows his business and he knows his customers. The shop, like many others, is a walk-in with a counter and a register. I happened to stop in on delivery day. It looked like Christmas with boxes and packaging everywhere.




Service: John knows which end of the perfecto to light. He is also willing to share that knowledge with you if you ask. He has no idea why Gurkhas unravel. … He said he doesn’t try to compete with online retailers on price, but suggests that having a seasoned, experienced guide at your service far outweighs the cost difference when you’re looking for something in particular. John’s daughter, who sometimes steps in to cover a shift, is equally knowledgeable and pleasant. Plus, she is really cute. This is one of those shops in which you just feel at home.


Walk-in: The entire store is humidified. It’s not perfect, but it keeps the stock in good condition. There is fairly high turn-over, as evidenced by the multiple weekly shipment arrivals.


Cigars: The newest creations are always up front. This is one of the first shops in the area to receive new products and they are often chosen to host cigar introduction tour stops. You will find all the popular brands and a deep inventory. I noticed a respectable selection of top shelf labels like Davidoff, Opus, and Crown Max. Prices are average for the area. Check out the Oliva V storage on the top of the display wall:





More:





Additional offerings: There a few basic boxes and cutters available. They can keep you going if you misplace a tool or lighter, but it clearly is not a point of emphasis.




Additional amenities: There is a small, comfortable chair by the door. I think it’s more for Al, the afternoon guy. You can watch television, but again, I think it’s a convenience for the staff while they’re working.

Special Notes: Three J’s hosts multiple cigar night events during the cooler months (November through April.) I have attended a couple and, believe me, they are packed. The last one was sponsored by Rocky Patel. They have a band, food, and the obligatory cigar specials. These are great events for local cigar guys and gals. They’re working the schedule to see if they can get Carlito Fuente to stop by in November ’09. If I go this season, I’ll be sure to post photos.

Summary: John is a cigar pro who knows his industry. If you’re local and haven’t discovered this store, you owe it to yourself to get acquainted. You should definitely plan on hitting their cigar night festivities. Those who visit the area and need to restock their travel humidor will find this shop to be a good choice.


Disclaimer and Full Disclosure:
Do not smoke. It is bad for you. I have the utmost respect for our Native American brothers. They never wear metallic armor. Ice cream is good. I have no financial interest or ownership interest in any cigar shop, store, retailer, wholesaler, distributor, manufacturer, packager, shipper, stevedore, roller, farmer, harvester, or tobacco farm land lease holder, nor do I receive any other benefit, explicit or implied, from the inclusion of or review of any establishment herein named, referred to, or otherwise described. I do watch the Big Bang Theory on CBS. I think Wooden Indians are cool.

[FunkyCold5]

Dang, dude. Where are all these places with Opuses???? Are the prices good?

I'd be buying all those bad boys.

Love the thread, very original.

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Dang, dude. Where are all these places with Opuses???? Are the prices good?

I'd be buying all those bad boys.

Love the thread, very original.

Glad you like the thread.

So far, the shops I've posted are in South Florida. I think most of them have a website. I could post their contact info, but then it becomes a commercial thread. The purpose of the thread was to get guys to think a little about their local shops and see some details they may have overlooked. Let me know if you have a specific interest and I'll look around.

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Is That a Fact? # 4: The first American Wooden Indian statues were used as an advertising device because of the strong association between tobacco and Native American traders. Immigrants who did not speak or read English identified tobacco merchants by locating the Wooden Indian placed on the walkway in front of the store. Some tobacco companies made duplicate statues for retailers of their cigars to increase brand recognition.

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Shop: Cloud Nine Cigar Bar & Lounge

Location: Palm Beach Gardens, 33418
Cloud 9 is on the southwest corner of Donald Ross Road and Military.

Wooden Indian: Negative. When asked about the absent traditional talisman of good fortune, the clerk cited the sidewalk obstruction law of 1910, mumbled something unintelligible, and disappeared into the mist of the humidor. I don’t know… I’ve got nothing.




Atmosphere: The bar and lounge are very clean. All of the furnishings and displays look brand new. The set-up looks great, but it seems a little… sterile.





Service: The clerk seemed more interested in web browsing than anything else. He didn’t seem too interested in describing the shop, nor its stock and amenities. I’m pretty sure he is a grad student working on his dissertation. … or not...

Walk-in: Yes, they have a walk-in and yes it’s full of cigars. For some reason they had a ton of Diamond Crown. Look:




Additional offerings: They have a decent selection of humidors and accessories.


Additional amenities: This is by far the best cigar smoking lounge in the area. There is a full bar and plenty of space to relax, watch television, enjoy a beverage, and savor a cigar. They also offer free Wi-Fi.




Summary: This shop fits its community quite well. There are professional offices nearby as well as upscale communities. The Jupiter Hammerheads baseball team plays right across the street. I would like to stop in here when the evening crowd is around and reevaluate. Overall rating: Meh.




Disclaimer and Full Disclosure:
Do not smoke; it is bad for you. Plus, that means less for me. I have the utmost respect for our Native American brothers. They never wear metallic armor. Ice cream is good. I have no financial interest or ownership interest in any cigar shop, store, retailer, wholesaler, distributor, manufacturer, packager, shipper, stevedore, roller, farmer, harvester, or tobacco farm land lease holder, nor do I receive any other benefit, explicit or implied, from the inclusion of or review of any establishment herein named, referred to, or otherwise described. I do watch the Big Bang Theory on CBS. I think Wooden Indians are cool.

[EdgeMan]

Location: Austin, TX. 509 East 6th Street, 2 blocks east of I-35.
URL: http://livecigarrollers.com/
Atmosphere: Very laid back with the zest and excitement of 6th street right outside.
Locals and visitors alike coming in all through the day and night.

Bobalu's has 6 full time rollers most grew up rolling in Cuba.
They are the only rolling school in the USA as far as I know of.
CNN did a skit on them and at that time they were the only rolling school in the country.
The fresh rolls are wonderful. They roll all their own smokes except for the pre-embargo Cubans they have from time to time. They will make you custom labels or a Cuban espresso.
This shop has a great ambiance and live cams on the rollers.
Here are some pics from tonight when I went with my fiance` and we had espresso and and I bought some pipe tobacco and 6 cigars. If you are ever in Austin do yourself a favor and have a fresh roll.
No Indian. Great place. Great stogies.











These fresh rolls are Dominican Binder and Filler.






The Pre-Embargo Cubans from 1959 are wonderful!

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Nice post, Edgeman. Bobalu's looks like a cool little cigar factory. Too bad about the missing Indian, though.

I think there are still a couple small factories near Tampa in Ybor City, FL, that teach rollers. I'm going over that way in a couple weeks so maybe I'll try to stop by one. Who knows, I may even run into a celebrity or two.

[EdgeMan]

Nice post, Edgeman. Bobalu's looks like a cool little cigar factory. Too bad about the missing Indian, though.

I think there are still a couple small factories near Tampa in Ybor City, FL, that teach rollers. I'm going over that way in a couple weeks so maybe I'll try to stop by one. Who knows, I may even run into a celebrity or two.

Yeah, no Indian but very cool place. Great smokes too.

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Shop: The Humidor (soon to be Club Humidor – San Pedro), San Antonio, Texas

Location: The Humidor is located on San Pedro about a mile south of the 410 Loop in fabulous San Antonio, Texas. It is a stand alone building and has ample parking both in front by the road and behind the building. You can’t miss it.

Wooden Indian: Absolutely! There is an excellent Indian statue out front and a few more specimens inside. The only one I was permitted to photograph is a resin copy of a Plains Tribesman wearing a buffalo-horned headdress. It is not the best production on the premises. If this is a scaled model, the rifle appears to be some kind of break-action 50 BMG. That would handle a buffalo… or a light tank.





This shop was founded by Col. Rumbo and his wife back in the day. He established the business and added locations as the opportunities arose. The guys in the shop are awesome. It feels like a neighborhood smoke shack, but offers much more. I made two trips here during my stay in San Antonio. On the second visit, I remembered to bring my camera along. Unfortunately, one of the owners denied my request to photograph the interior.

The Exterior… from the parking lot:




Service: All the guys know their business and most are trained tobacconists. Even the customers are well versed in cigar-speak. This is a busy shop so I tried not to bother the staff.

Walk-in: The Humidor boasts “the largest walk-in in the Southwest”… or so I am told. Alas, no photos.

Cigars: You name it. There is a concentration on higher end merchandise, but they offer something for everyone. This chain of shops lays claim to the title of largest Davidoff distributor in the region. The regional sales representative, Chris, happened to stop in and he filled me in on the details. Their sales volume is so strong that the Davidoff people pitched in to build a Winston Churchill Cigar Lounge. Sorry, no photos.

Additional offerings: The Humidor offers a great selection of cigars as well as a broad range of accessories, toys, and gadgets - none of which I was allowed to photograph. *sigh*

Additional amenities: They are adding an AVO Lounge, similar to the existing WCL. Access to the AVO Lounge will require membership. They do offer a special “members only” AVO club cigar. However, no photos are permitted.

Summary: Despite my sarcasm about the photos, this really is a “must see” shop. Next time you’re in San Antonio, haul your butt up to The Humidor and plan to spend a little time browsing and hanging out in the lounge. IMO, it’s the second best cigar lounge in Greater San Antonio. Who is tops? I’ll tell you later.

Disclaimer and Full Disclosure:
Do not smoke too much; it is bad for you. I have the utmost respect for our Native American brothers. They never wear metallic armor. Ice cream is good. Sometimes I use Stay-Puft marshmallows in hot cocoa. I have no financial interest or ownership interest in any cigar shop, store, retailer, wholesaler, distributor, manufacturer, packager, shipper, stevedore, roller, farmer, harvester, or tobacco farm land lease holder, nor do I receive any other benefit, explicit or implied, from the inclusion of or review of any establishment herein named, referred to, or otherwise described. One guy did give me a free cigar. I watch the Big Bang Theory on CBS. We should promote more old-school pirates. Arrrrgh. The most common commodity in this country is unrealized potential. I think Wooden Indians are cool. I wish more Cigar Store Indians were made from actual wood. Please, no flash photography.

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Episode #17 – Club Humidor – The Quarry

Shop: Club Humidor – The Quarry, San Antonio, TX

Location: This edition of Club Humidor is located in the Quarry Shops off 281 and Basse Road - Deep in the Heart of Texas! Special note: This is one of five local shops owned by the same family. Take a look back at Episode # 16, “The Humidor”, in post # 67.




Wooden Indian: Yes! Here is a fine Cigar Store Indian proudly displayed on the walk in front of the shop. There are also a couple old-school Punch statues inside. Check out this fine example:




Atmosphere: The Quarry is a high end shopping destination that includes retail, dining, entertainment, and anchor tenants such as Whole Paycheck Foods, Gap, Old Navy, and Victoria’s Secret – Ooh, la, la! or… whatever… should have taken some photos there…

Here’s a Punch guy in lieu of pictures from Victoria’s:



The other Punch guy is near the front door:





Service: The youngster at the counter that day introduced himself as Ed. I liked his style. He allowed me plenty of time to snoop around and fielded all my questions with big-league skill and reasonable responses. He demonstrated a thorough knowledge of his stock and of the cigar trade in general. My impression is that he is very honest in expressing his opinions. No nonsense, no hedging – just good responses.

Walk-in: The walk-in is fairly large and well stocked. They offer all the expected brands. This is the first look I had at the recently introduced Xicar Havana Collection cigars. I haven’t smoked one yet, but they offer a few different wrappers and sizes to suit tastes from mild to wild. Ok, maybe not that wild.









Additional offerings: There is an excellent selection of humis, cutters, pipes, oh my! You will find everything you expect in a high end shop.

Additional amenities: There is an indoor lounge with comfortable seating, a giant television, and a variety of cold and hot drinks available. You will also find strategically placed seating out front. I ran into a group of guys enjoying cigars out on the benches. You can see them on the right in the first photo. There was a lawyer, a retired gentleman, a businessman, and an Army Staff Sergeant. We conversed for twenty minutes or so about cigars, cigar guys, and the lost cigar shop community. When you run into people that enjoy cigars, they aren’t strangers for long.

Summary: It is worth a trip to visit if you’re in town. I suggest that you ditch the female wimmin types at the shopping center and spend some quality time in the smoking lounge.


Disclaimer and Full Disclosure:
Do not smoke too much; it is bad for you. I have the utmost respect for our Native American brothers. They never wear metallic armor. Ice cream is good. Sometimes I use Stay-Puft marshmallows in hot cocoa. I have no financial interest or ownership interest in any cigar shop, store, retailer, wholesaler, distributor, manufacturer, packager, shipper, stevedore, roller, farmer, harvester, or tobacco farm land lease holder, nor do I receive any other benefit, explicit or implied, from the inclusion of or review of any establishment herein named, referred to, or otherwise described. One guy did give me a free cigar. I watch the Big Bang Theory on CBS. We should promote more old-school pirates. Arrrrgh. The most common commodity in this country is unrealized potential. I think Wooden Indians are cool. I wish more Cigar Store Indians were made from actual wood. Please, no flash photography.

[ndv21]

I agree with your assesment! Great place to come and enjoy a smoke.