I moved to the Nashville area from Gulfport, Ms back in June of 09. When I left there was one small cigar shop. I kept hearing about this place when I would come into town and was never able to check it out. If any of you are passing along the I-10 stretch in South Mississippi, you owe it to yourself to check it out. Great selection, a ton of room and a private lounge round out, what to me, is one of the nicest smoke shops in the Southeast.
The Cigar Shop- Biloxi Mississippi
- Thread starter PatfromNCC
- Start date
thebayratt
Satori's Dad "NTA_Shawn"
That is my regular B&M!
They are a great shop! Nice selection, good prices, friendly staff. Every Friday afternoon they do "Customer Appreciation"; free food, beer, drinks. When I go there I'm usually good for about 6-9 hours!
These are a few pics taken right after they opened. The shelves are fully stocked now.
Customer appreciation food set-up
The small tables have been removed for more chairs.
http://www.thecigarshopblx.com/
They are a great shop! Nice selection, good prices, friendly staff. Every Friday afternoon they do "Customer Appreciation"; free food, beer, drinks. When I go there I'm usually good for about 6-9 hours!
These are a few pics taken right after they opened. The shelves are fully stocked now.
Customer appreciation food set-up
The small tables have been removed for more chairs.
http://www.thecigarshopblx.com/
carocaniac
i hope this lighter works
Nice shop, but I'm not too up with the owners. I was hired to work their, when I showed up they looked at me like I had 10 heads. I worked for that "little" shop in Edgewater Mall in Biloxi. The Epitome may be small but for what they don't have on hand, they make up for in personality.
carocaniac
i hope this lighter works
Yep. The manager says "your hired". I show up at one of their other locations, meet the people who work their and they tell me, "Call the manager back - we don't know anything about you..." WTF? I wasn't going to play the circle game. One of the two owners didn't know anything about me but I got back-doored because I worked for a competitor locally. Who cares? BTW If you visit the shops website www.thecigarshopblx.com you will notice the name of the private club, B.O.T.L. The Brotherhood of the Leaf! What a rip-off....
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A lot of businesses care about you working for a competitor. Its a conflict of interest. Im not saying they did the right thing, but it doesnt surprise me that they wouldnt want to hire someone who works for another shop in the area.
carocaniac
i hope this lighter works
It's a cigar shop not a Fortune 500 company. The reason it didn't happen is because my former boss, pulled some stunt that in turn pissed them off. That's what happened, I ended up paying for it. The other shop has been around 40 years. No big deal, I ended up getting the shaft...
Crypto Sailor
Loose Lips Sink Ships
When I was down there for school, it was like pulling teeth to find a shop that had a lounge and or sticks I wanted.
Steve! Didn't know you were on here bro!
I was actually looking around for you when I went in there. Hate that happened to you, one of the things I missed the most when I moved up here was going to "Church" with you and Chris on Sunday Mornings.
I was actually looking around for you when I went in there. Hate that happened to you, one of the things I missed the most when I moved up here was going to "Church" with you and Chris on Sunday Mornings.
carocaniac
i hope this lighter works
Landrum! Is that you? Small world...
thebayratt
Satori's Dad "NTA_Shawn"
See, here is the thing, I think I know exactly what happened. And the "problem" of the two owners is gone. The one "owner" is no longer there. For reasons like what happened to you upon other things with other issues. He screwed more than you in the beginning. There were people there who thought they were te boss. Yeh, you had the boss of construction, boss of ordering, boss of paint colors etc... Too many cooks spoil the soup. The left hand wasn't talking to the right hand and in turn aggrevated alot of people in the process.
I visit both shops.
The BOTL club is alot of money and not for "blue-collar people" and not worth it to me. I'll just sit and smoke in the public side.
On the otherhand, the Epitome won't let you in the humidor without being asked for a background check. I know "customer service", but at times, its almost harrasment. Espicially when they "think" they (some of the help) know about cigars..... when they can't find a VSG in the Humidor.
opeyes:What stunt was that?
carocaniac
i hope this lighter works
First, I have no idea what the "stunt" was.See, here is the thing, I think I know exactly what happened. And the "problem" of the two owners is gone. The one "owner" is no longer there. For reasons like what happened to you upon other things with other issues. He screwed more than you in the beginning. There were people there who thought they were te boss. Yeh, you had the boss of construction, boss of ordering, boss of paint colors etc... Too many cooks spoil the soup. The left hand wasn't talking to the right hand and in turn aggrevated alot of people in the process.
I visit both shops.
The BOTL club is alot of money and not for "blue-collar people" and not worth it to me. I'll just sit and smoke in the public side.
On the otherhand, the Epitome won't let you in the humidor without being asked for a background check. I know "customer service", but at times, its almost harrasment. Espicially when they "think" they (some of the help) know about cigars..... when they can't find a VSG in the Humidor.
What stunt was that?
Second, The Epitome is that way because it is easy to steal sticks for the walk-in.
Third, the help - I can't even argue with that there. I agree. The only knowledge you have is Mo the manager, Chris and Pat the owner. That's it...
It sucks getting screwed. But it happens. Leaving that cigar shop was the worst thing I ever did. I enjoyed my time there and I miss it dearly.
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thebayratt
Satori's Dad "NTA_Shawn"
I understand the theft part in the humidor 100%... There is alot of "riff raff" that wonders the mall. Not too many "true" BOTLs would pilfer from a B&M.
Chris is good help. I think I've dealt with Mo a time or two. Haven't delt with Pat recently, maybe a few years back I did. They are helpful and know thier stuff. The others I've delt with were there to smoke their cigs and make sum cash it seemed.
Both shops are nice, both have advantages and disadvantages. Pat has been in the business a long time. Before he opened the Biloxi Epitome, he had a shop in NOLA The "original" Epitome. Now, its Cresent City Cigars, owned by Armando Ortiz and is my favorite shop in NOLA.
Back to topic
The Cigar Shop is having the Studio Tobac Tour stop in there on March 31st. They finalized the info the other day. Not sure of happenings, but have heard they sell, give away "Tour Only" Sampler packs of cigars only available on the tour.
They are also having an Oliva event this Friday 1-14-2011.
$20 entry. Gets you a cigar and wine paring, $10 off any Oliva Purchase, 20% off boxes (i believe) and buy 2 Oliva prudcts, get one free.
Chris is good help. I think I've dealt with Mo a time or two. Haven't delt with Pat recently, maybe a few years back I did. They are helpful and know thier stuff. The others I've delt with were there to smoke their cigs and make sum cash it seemed.
Both shops are nice, both have advantages and disadvantages. Pat has been in the business a long time. Before he opened the Biloxi Epitome, he had a shop in NOLA The "original" Epitome. Now, its Cresent City Cigars, owned by Armando Ortiz and is my favorite shop in NOLA.
Back to topic
The Cigar Shop is having the Studio Tobac Tour stop in there on March 31st. They finalized the info the other day. Not sure of happenings, but have heard they sell, give away "Tour Only" Sampler packs of cigars only available on the tour.
They are also having an Oliva event this Friday 1-14-2011.
$20 entry. Gets you a cigar and wine paring, $10 off any Oliva Purchase, 20% off boxes (i believe) and buy 2 Oliva prudcts, get one free.
SkinsFanLarry
Craft Beer Addict!
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For one, the Cain F Lancero! :cbig:
carocaniac
i hope this lighter works
Yep, Pat lost the "original" Epitome after he divorced his wife. I also had a other shop on the Florida panhandle. If you go into Cresent City Cigars in NO you will actually see one of Pat signs hanging on the wall. Pat through a customer told Armando to give it back to him but I don't think that ever happened. I think both shops can benefit from the fact that they are so close. They should both have different distributors and that means they will have a different inventory. This can help business. Pat has a wonderful relationship with the Fuente family and even dated Cynthia Fuente. When Opus X came out, Pat was one of the few in the southeast region to even have the sticks on hand. Thanks for the info for The Cigar Shoppe, I might have to look into it.
Steven
Jewel's Cigar and Briar in Covington, La is a must stop for any of you guys down there. For me, Myan Import Company was a great New Orleans spot too if you want to get away from the bustle of the Quarter.
thebayratt
Satori's Dad "NTA_Shawn"
Yeh, the sign is still at Cresent City. I have a pic of a buddy there adn you can see the sign still up on the wall.
Pat does have a good connection on the Opus. If I need one, they usually have it; but don't care too much for a fresh Opus, so I don't buy them much. All three (Cresent City, Epitome, & The Cigar Shop) do have different inventory. Either way, you can usally find what you are looking for. There is competion between the two local shops with your "every day" cigars from General, Altadis etc... but they both have different sticks. Thats why I frequent both.
Pat does have a good connection on the Opus. If I need one, they usually have it; but don't care too much for a fresh Opus, so I don't buy them much. All three (Cresent City, Epitome, & The Cigar Shop) do have different inventory. Either way, you can usally find what you are looking for. There is competion between the two local shops with your "every day" cigars from General, Altadis etc... but they both have different sticks. Thats why I frequent both.
Stroke & I just visited this place for the first time. Very nice place and friendly owners. They took us on a tour of the lounge without trying to push a membership, and we met a cool fellow patron who had the owner hit Stroke with a sneak attack Epernay (thanking him for his service).
They were currently running low on Tats & Padrons, but they had a cornucopia of Dion and Litto's goods. Oh, they have all you can drink free beer on Friday nights!:thumbsup:
They were currently running low on Tats & Padrons, but they had a cornucopia of Dion and Litto's goods. Oh, they have all you can drink free beer on Friday nights!:thumbsup: