Davidoff's cigar shop on Madison Avenue to get a new address

Those of you who enjoyed making frequent trips to the Davidoff shop on NYC's Madison Avenue may have to re-route your plans soon, as it will be getting a new address. The current address of the Davidoff shop at 535 Madison Avenue will become defunct in the spring of 2011. Luckily, the address of the new shop will opening at that time will be 515 Madison Avenue, which is just one block south.

Rumors had swirled for a while concerning the closing of the shop's current address. It had been speculated that it would close before the end of 2010, but that date has now been moved to sometime in the spring of next year. Davidoff finally decided to make plans for the shop's move for a couple of reasons, although the most significant one was a disagreement between Davidoff and the property's landlord on smoking within the store. The problems between the two parties led the shop to institute a no-smoking policy on its premises. The no-smoking decision plus other factors led to a non-renewal of the lease.

The shop at 535 Madison Avenue was Davidoff's first such venture in the United States, giving it a bit of nostalgic value since its opening in 1987. While the upcoming move south to 515 Madison Avenue may be sad for some, there is plenty to look forward to in the new location. Without a doubt, the most welcome improvement is that customers will be allowed to smoke in the store. While the original location only had a small second floor lounge for smoking, the newer one will have a 300 square foot public smoking lounge located on its ground floor.

So, while change is sometimes hard to get accustomed to, this is one instance where it is probably desired. Cigar shops should be places where you can not only go to buy cigars, but where you can actually enjoy them as well.