Shop of the Month

Baby steps. Organic. These are just two words to describe the evolution of the Chill Room in W Palm Beach/ Worthington, Florida. Robert Cartagine opened his first vape shop in 2015 with great trepidation, but after realizing that his entire family stopped smoking and started vaping, he saw that there was a need. “In addition…

Instead of “Lucy in the Sky” with kaleidoscope eyes, Anna Butler, at age 48, is the woman with the kaleidoscope hair; always changing, always highlighting her zest for life. That is understandable since she almost lost her life giving birth to her two sons, and after enduring that, she wentthrough years of pain—until she discovered…

Every smoke shop has an “origin story,” and though many are similar, Platt HempCo does not fall into that category. How often do you hear of a former professional soldier who joins his wife, a graphic artist, to open a smoke shop in a small town of less than 10,000 people? In Wyoming. And neither…

River Roots By Norm Bour Every business, every story, has a beginning: the roots. Where it all started. So the name of Amy Phelps’ shop, River Roots, is telling since it represents the story itself, as well as where the business started; on the banks of the Mississippi River. They are this month’s Shop of…

710 Vape & Glass by Norm Bour “Fail early,” was just one of the lessons that Paul Pitonyak shared when we spoke about profiling his Erie, PA shop as Shop of the Month. He’s 32 years old now and never had aspirations of entrepreneurship when he was younger, and actually swayed towards random jobs– and…

by Norm Bour  The “800 pound gorilla” is an expression which refers to a real powerhouse or person, and Smoker Friendly true IS that gorilla in the smoke shop industry. With 180 corporate stores and many more partnerships, it would be hard for any competitor to knock them off that pedestal.   Like most businesses, Smoker…

Brennan’s Smoke Shop: Fast on the Their Feet by Norm Bour Brennan’s is a true example of a family affair, starting with Uncle Dave in the 1980’s with two locations. He initially hired his sister, Karen, and taught her the biz, which resulted in her opening her own shop in the area. Dave was later…

Cosmic Fish Previous Next by Norm Bour We profiled Ronetta Rushing with Cosmic Fish since she was the lucky winner of our annual HQ giveaway, which took place in November. So, we wanted to share a bit more of her history. She opened her smoke shop in 1994 with her then partner, who she later bought out. “What motivated her to get into this industry in…

 Smokey Shays by Norm Bour Some of the more notable people in this smoke industry are known because of the size of their business. Or their visibility. Or their social media presence. But Shana Wilkinson, along with being known for some of those things, is also recognized because of her heart. I have spoken with her at Smoke Shop…

by Norm Bour  Many shop owners and entrepreneurs in the smoke/ head shop industry do not look like “typical” business owners, which makes sense since this industry is anything BUT typical. Pierce Wright looks like a stoner, with long hair, long beard, piercings, and tats. When a “conventional” looking business owner meets Pierce, they underestimate him, since this guy is as sharp as anyone in the…