Central Coast (Monterey & San
Luis Obispo Counties)
Choose a region:
City of Carmel
City of Monterey
City of Watsonville
San Luis Obispo County
and a bit further down on the "Central Coast"..
City of Santa Barbara
City of Carmel
Carmel Pipe Shop : Lincoln south of Ocean, Carmel,
CA 93921 {MAP}
A cramped old-world style shop with prices through the
roof (LGC's from $10-18) But, if you're in town and you REALLY need
a premium cigar..
City of Monterey
The General Store : 700 Cannery Row, Monterey,
CA 93940
{MAP}
408-655-7745--- Hours: M-Th: 9am-9pm, Fri-Sat: 8am-1am,
Sun: 8am-11pm
Located in the building on the corner of Cannery and
Prescott, directly west of the carrousel, the General Store has a good
supply of emergency smokes at very reasonable prices (for a "tourist trap"
town). They feature a 7' high x 4' wide cabinet humidor, stocked with Hamiltons
($11-12), Hugo Cassar ($6-11), Astral ($10-12), Don Thomas, and on the
bottom shelf, they have a great selection of W&D's ($4-6). The storage
conditions are superb. They also have a decent selection of crystal and
nickel plated cigar ashtrays as well as cigar cases (in both leather and
brass) and flasks. The best emergency cigar shop I've found, located in
one of the best places in the world to enjoy a cigar.. say "Hi" to Forrest
Gump for me when you go over to Bubba Gump's.. and be sure to try the coconut
shrimp platter.. mmmmm!
Hellam's Tobacco : 423 Alvarado Street, Monterey,
CA 93940 {MAP}
408-373-2816 --- Hours: M-Th 9-8, F-Sat 9-9, Sun 12-5.
Located Between Franklin St./Bonifacio Pl. located 1
1/2 blocks south of Del Monte and 1 1/2 blocks north of Pearl/Jefferson
Hellam's is a long time tobacco store, open since 1897.
Lee Hellam is the current owner and offers a wide selection of cigars,
pipes, tobacco and accessories. Prices are excellent and the knowledge
of the employees is outstanding. If you are in the Monterey area, Hellam's
is the only place to go for your smokes. (Review by Chuck)
Added information from Shawn Evans (aka DoublePlay):
Hellam's has a very large selection of pipes and pipe tobacco as well.
They have seven cigar cases with a wide variety of cigars from Avo, Upmann,
V Centennial, Griffin all the way down to Baccarat. Their prices are the
most reasonable in the Monterey Peninsula area, a fact highlighted by the
fact that they have one case which they reserve exclusively for bundled
cigars such as La Unica and Don Mateo. Although Hellam's is primarily considered
a tobacconist, they also sell novelty gifts such as beer mugs, swords,
flasks, knifes, and candy in addition to the usual selection of smoker's
accesories and humidors.
City of Watsonville
Jack's Cigar Store : 446 Main Sreet, Watsonville
CA
408-722-5182 --- Hours: ?
This location needs to be reviewed. Anyone?
San Luis Obispo County
Sanctuary
Tobacco Shop : 111 Chorro Street (@ Serrano Dr.), San Luis Obispo,
CA {MAP}
805-543-1958 --- Hours: ?
This shop is located just a bit South of the San Luis
Obispo Mission in a classy looking, old building that has been refurbished.
They have a decent sized walk-in humidor with a great selection of sticks
(that included LGC's, Fuente's and some of my favorites; Carbonell's).
The guys that work there are very amiable, extremely knowledgeable and
seem to be genuinely interested ensuring you walk out with a smoke that
you are going to enjoy. They also have a very nice assortment of top-notch
accessories with what seemed to be pretty reasonable prices. They have
a "club" in which they will send you two different cigars that are worth
more than the monthly fee.
Sea-gars : Highway 1, Located in downtown Morro Bay, CA
805-771-9900 --- Hours: ?
I was just down in Morro Bay this past week end. I checked out two
cigar shops, Cigarettes Cheaper (blah!) and SEA-GARS on the main strip.
Sea-gars was incredible!! I actually purchased 3 Fuente Fuente Opus X's!
I did leave two for the next guy also! They also had a great selection
of other major brands as well. Ask for Eric or Thea. Both were very
friendly and enthusiastic!! (Review by: Ron
Freeman)
City of Santa Barbara
Santa Barbara Cigar & Tobacco : 10
West Figueroa, Santa Barbara, CA
805-963-1979 --- Hours: Sun 11-4, M-Th 10-6, Fri-Sat
10-8.
Proprietors: Matt Lanford & Tom Georgouses
More complete review needed. (Submitted by:
Michael Mazur )
The Cigar Co. : 1005 Santa Barbara Street, Santa
Barbara, CA
805-962-4427 --- Hours: ?
Proprietor: Russ Wright.
More complete review needed. (Submitted by: Michael
Mazur )
If a cigar shop or cigar bar/lounge you frequent
in the Monterey/Carmel area (or anywhere in the "Central Coast" region)
is not listed here, please let me know by e-mail,
or submit a listing (partial or complete) or
review and I will add it as soon as possible.
Happy smoke trails,
- Mark Howard aka Cigarman@thePentagon.com
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