K & S Cigars, Cary NC

[Slow Triathlete]

I was just up in the Raleigh area before I went to Hawaii and I stopped into one of my favorite shops up there. It's called K & S Cigars. Here's a little history about the shop. I started going there about 15 years ago and back then they were a newspaper/magazine store that had a tiny humidor there. They had really good prices so I always went there to buy my regulars. I moved out of the area in 1997 and they were still the same way. The humidor had gotten a little bigger but not much. I didn't go back around there after I moved to Wilmington until about 5 years ago. Now they have completely ditched the newspaper/magazine market and converted most of the store into a humidor. They have a decent amount of accessories and a tiny smoking area in the back. What keeps bringing me back there is their selection. They have cigars crammed in every available corner of that humidor. If I'm looking for a certain cigar, chances are that they have it. A couple of weeks ago they had 6 facings of the Ashton VSG and they had just received another shipment of them that day!! I'm not sure who they have made deals with but their selection is unmatched in my opinion.

If you're ever in the Raleigh area, it would be worth your wild to stop in. I stop in everytime I go through there and if I just happen to be pressed for time and can't stop I always feel a sense of loss.

Slow Triathlete

[Tony-cl]

That store is about a mile from my house. The guy is getting ready to move, because he doesn't have enough space. It is indeed a great shop. I do tend to let the cigars i buy from him sit a week or so to let them properly adjust. Hopefully when he makes the move, his new walk in humidor can accommodate every thing he has in it.

[Slow Triathlete]

Hey Tony,

Any idea where they are moving to or when?

[netopsguy]

I heard that he was moving to that new, upscale shopping center at Davis Drive and High House. Someone told me that the move has been delayed until later this month or January.

[Tony-cl]

Actually, I think it is the next intersection of High House and 55. He is located next to the new Krogers. He said he would be opening in January. We should have a herf sometime.

[netopsguy]

Originally Posted by Tony

Actually, I think it is the next intersection of High House and 55. He is located next to the new Krogers. He said he would be opening in January. We should have a herf sometime.

Good to know! That's another mile drive, but still very close by. Herf sounds good -- after the new year sometime.

[Slow Triathlete]

A herf sounds good to me. It will have to be after the holidays and after he opens the new shop. We need to get FozzMan in on this. He lives in that area.

[FoZzMaN-cl]

Yes, he does. Never been to that shop, tho... looking forward to checking it out.

[netopsguy]

emailing from K&S:

"Dear Valued Customer:

We'll be on the move-very soon! K&S Cigars wants to thank you for your patience and understanding during the past few months. We've had a number of delays recently; many of them can be attributed to the backlog of building code inspections in the county. Codes that were not on the books when we opened here more than 17 years ago are now stringently enforced and there is zero tolerance-which all adds up to more time spent getting everything up to acceptable levels. But, most of that is behind us now, and within the next 14 days, give or take a few, we expect to be in our new location at 2722 NC Hwy 55 in Cary. If you want to "map" the location on the net our zip code is 27519. Kay and I have been involved with everything at the new location, from picking out tile and paint colors, to making sure our friends receive the same great service and selection that they've been used to over the past 17 years!

As a valued customer of K & S Cigars we invite you to come and see our new store, relax in our comfortable Cigar Lounge with Direct TV and flat-panel screens, and continue to enjoy the same wonderful selection of premium cigars, humidors and smoking accessories-everything is the same, except our address has changed.

I'll send one more e-mail after this one to notify you that the new store is open for business.

Best Regards,

Kay & Scott
K&S Cigars"

[mooremedic-cl]

wow, no one visits K&S anymore?....The new store is beautiful....large humidor, great lounge and still great stogies to be found. Scott always has some good finds including some aged stuff hiding. Stop by sometime and check him out...

[uncelnino-cl]

In terms of selection, facings, exclusives, etc...Empire Cigars (formerly Capital City Cigars) in Raleigh puts K&S to shame. Empire is located in the shopping center at the corner of Strickland and Six Forks. It has a new owner as of April and he has incredible connections, including a La Flor cigar exclusive to his shop (ie the only place in the world to get it unless Litto Gomez hands you one...called the Cherooot and is pure ligero) It is a welcoming environment with ample smoking room, big screen high def tv w/ surround and a fantastic staff that is always friendly and helpful. K&S in my experience wants you to buy and get the hell out. Their smoking area is pathetic, tv is never turned on, no music, about four chairs. I'll admit they do have a pretty good selection but if you want more than simply exchanging money and going on your way this is not the place for you.

[mooremedic-cl]

Have you been to the new store?...because my friend I have to say you just may be wrong. Scott is a great guy, and CCC cannot match the facings he has in inventory. I admit it's not the best place to "hang out"....I do that at Tobacconist of Cary, the BEST cigar shop in Raleigh/Cary area....I have not been to CCC since changing hands, but they are more expensive, less selection and farther away than K&S (for me). All cigar stores have an "exclusive" cigar....Scott has one that is pretty decent, strong and made with loads of ligero(heck it may be the same one). You'll never find the hidden treasures at empire that you can at K&S, as the shop is way too new. And K&S is the only Opus X account in Raleigh...the last time I was in CCC they tried to sell me some Opus for 3 times the MSRP....that's not cool in my book.

Originally Posted by uncelnino

In terms of selection, facings, exclusives, etc...Empire Cigars (formerly Capital City Cigars) in Raleigh puts K&S to shame. Empire is located in the shopping center at the corner of Strickland and Six Forks. It has a new owner as of April and he has incredible connections, including a La Flor cigar exclusive to his shop (ie the only place in the world to get it unless Litto Gomez hands you one...called the Cherooot and is pure ligero) It is a welcoming environment with ample smoking room, big screen high def tv w/ surround and a fantastic staff that is always friendly and helpful. K&S in my experience wants you to buy and get the hell out. Their smoking area is pathetic, tv is never turned on, no music, about four chairs. I'll admit they do have a pretty good selection but if you want more than simply exchanging money and going on your way this is not the place for you.

[uncelnino-cl]

Originally Posted by mooremedic

Have you been to the new store?...because my friend I have to say you just may be wrong. Scott is a great guy, and CCC cannot match the facings he has in inventory. I admit it's not the best place to "hang out"....I do that at Tobacconist of Cary, the BEST cigar shop in Raleigh/Cary area....I have not been to CCC since changing hands, but they are more expensive, less selection and farther away than K&S (for me). All cigar stores have an "exclusive" cigar....Scott has one that is pretty decent, strong and made with loads of ligero(heck it may be the same one). You'll never find the hidden treasures at empire that you can at K&S, as the shop is way too new. And K&S is the only Opus X account in Raleigh...the last time I was in CCC they tried to sell me some Opus for 3 times the MSRP....that's not cool in my book.

You have obviously not been to Empire (not CCC anymore) since it changed ownership. Admittedly, under the old ownership the shop was subpar as the management esseentially used the place as a means to achieve "free" cigars. I certainly don't have anything against Scott at K & S, in my experience it has just not been a welcoming environment, perhaps i caught him on a bad day, regardless i hold no ill will towards the management/owners of the shop. I will say with complete confidence that Empire has the best selection and prices in the Triangle area. It is closer for me to go to K & S as well, but i choose to go to Empire. If you have not been there since the store changed ownership, how can you possibly make assertions about selection and price. I understand, someone trying to sell me an Opus for 3x msrp would leave a terrible taste in my mouth as well, however, Hal (the new owner) would never do that. In fact, as I was hanging out at the shop one day he walked by and simply GAVE me the 2007 Toast Across America set and then sat down and enjoyed the Opus with me. K & S may have the Opus account, so what, the only place guaranteed to have Opus in stock is not in Raleigh, it is in Las Vegas. How many Opus' are in stock there right now? I will not spend much time addressing the idea that every store has an exclusive. Telling us that "Scott has one that is pretty decent, strong and made with loads of ligero" is quite different than having a Litto Gomez personalized cigar, whatever K & S may have is certainly not a Cheroot. As for hidden gems, no such thing at Empire, I will give you that. At Empire they are exposed. You don't have to be a regular customer or golfing buddy of Hal's to get access to the super premium or rare stuff, he will gladly show or sell it to anyone that desires it. I have seen him on several occasions sell an item from his personal cigar collection, at msrp, to a customer because he did not have the particular item in stock..

My gut tells me that we are going to have to agree to disagree on this one but I really think you should check out the new Empire and see the changes for yourself, even if it doesn't change your mind about T of C or K & S. I wouldn't normally spend the time to rebut an argument like this, but i feel a strong sense of loyalty to Hal and appreciate the way he runs his business. It is refreshing in an industry that is more and more restrictive and has a declining number of "local shops" to find an "old school" store and owner like Empire where the environment, customer service, and comraderie are considered part of the business in addition to just facings. If you ever stop by you can have a stick on me, i am there most days. Just ask for Dave.

Once again, just to be crystal clear. I have nothing against Scott or any other staff members at these other shops. They are working in the cigar industry and have my respect and admiration as do all others that continue to promote the love, workmanship, knowledge, and pure pleasure that is part of cigar smoking. My comments are focused on my personal experiences and observances at the various shops.

Hope to see you at the shop some day my friend. Until then, Happy Smoking.

Dave

[mooremedic-cl]

Originally Posted by uncelnino

You have obviously not been to Empire (not CCC anymore) since it changed ownership. Admittedly, under the old ownership the shop was subpar as the management esseentially used the place as a means to achieve "free" cigars. I certainly don't have anything against Scott at K & S, in my experience it has just not been a welcoming environment, perhaps i caught him on a bad day, regardless i hold no ill will towards the management/owners of the shop. I will say with complete confidence that Empire has the best selection and prices in the Triangle area. It is closer for me to go to K & S as well, but i choose to go to Empire. If you have not been there since the store changed ownership, how can you possibly make assertions about selection and price. I understand, someone trying to sell me an Opus for 3x msrp would leave a terrible taste in my mouth as well, however, Hal (the new owner) would never do that. In fact, as I was hanging out at the shop one day he walked by and simply GAVE me the 2007 Toast Across America set and then sat down and enjoyed the Opus with me. K & S may have the Opus account, so what, the only place guaranteed to have Opus in stock is not in Raleigh, it is in Las Vegas. How many Opus' are in stock there right now? I will not spend much time addressing the idea that every store has an exclusive. Telling us that "Scott has one that is pretty decent, strong and made with loads of ligero" is quite different than having a Litto Gomez personalized cigar, whatever K & S may have is certainly not a Cheroot. As for hidden gems, no such thing at Empire, I will give you that. At Empire they are exposed. You don't have to be a regular customer or golfing buddy of Hal's to get access to the super premium or rare stuff, he will gladly show or sell it to anyone that desires it. I have seen him on several occasions sell an item from his personal cigar collection, at msrp, to a customer because he did not have the particular item in stock..

My gut tells me that we are going to have to agree to disagree on this one but I really think you should check out the new Empire and see the changes for yourself, even if it doesn't change your mind about T of C or K & S. I wouldn't normally spend the time to rebut an argument like this, but i feel a strong sense of loyalty to Hal and appreciate the way he runs his business. It is refreshing in an industry that is more and more restrictive and has a declining number of "local shops" to find an "old school" store and owner like Empire where the environment, customer service, and comraderie are considered part of the business in addition to just facings. If you ever stop by you can have a stick on me, i am there most days. Just ask for Dave.

Once again, just to be crystal clear. I have nothing against Scott or any other staff members at these other shops. They are working in the cigar industry and have my respect and admiration as do all others that continue to promote the love, workmanship, knowledge, and pure pleasure that is part of cigar smoking. My comments are focused on my personal experiences and observances at the various shops.

Hope to see you at the shop some day my friend. Until then, Happy Smoking.

Dave

Argument?....i'm not being argumentive, and I clearly state that I haven't been to Empire since changing hands. Have you been to K&S since they opened the new store?...I will visit empire to see their selection one day, but I find it hard to believe he has more facings than Scott...but hey who cares?..I don't smoke many NC cigars anymore, and I sure as hell don't buy many of them so I don't really have a dog in the fight...but I can say that for my liking TOC can't be beat. Rob and Bill have always given me cigars and even sponsored my North Carolina Herf, so I'm loyal to them also. Maybe i'll see ya in there.

[netopsguy]

Originally Posted by mooremedic-cl

Argument?....i'm not being argumentive, and I clearly state that I haven't been to Empire since changing hands. Have you been to K&S since they opened the new store?...I will visit empire to see their selection one day, but I find it hard to believe he has more facings than Scott...but hey who cares?..I don't smoke many NC cigars anymore, and I sure as hell don't buy many of them so I don't really have a dog in the fight...but I can say that for my liking TOC can't be beat. Rob and Bill have always given me cigars and even sponsored my North Carolina Herf, so I'm loyal to them also. Maybe i'll see ya in there.

MooreMedic -- did you ever make it over to Empire? I'm also a fan of Scott's store in Cary -- the selection has always been tremendous, and I've occasionally enjoyed the camaraderie of the visitors in K&S's Diamond Crown lounge. I haven't been to Empire since it changed owners (is this the 3rd or 4th change in the last 5 years?), but I had enjoyed it on several occasions beforehand. The last time I was there, it was still CCC, and it seemed to be getting run down some -- also, there were so many guys in there smoking that I copped a major buzz from all the 2nd hand smoke. The only reason I don't make it there often is because it's too far away when my house is 5 minutes from both K&S and TOC. Anyways, I was looking to see if you made it to Empire and wanted to know your thoughts.