Thursday, Mississippi State University senior economics and political science major Drew Cleek opens Starkville’s only cigar shop, Starkville Stogies, in the Cotton District.
The tiny blue building adorned with cherub statues in the Cotton District may seem an unlikely place for the new Starkville Stogies cigar shop, but by Thursday this quaint building will be filled with tobacco products, a smoker’s lounge and a coffee shop.
Cleek said he decided to open a cigar shop because he was not sure what was next for him.
“I was just thinking about it and thought, ‘Hey why not open a business,'” Cleek said. “I mean, I don’t know what I want to do anyway.”
Cleek said he thought about what would make an interesting store and talked to several of his economics teachers.
“I really like cigars, and I smoke cigars quite often,” Cleek said. “It is also pretty cheap to get into.”
Sophomore building construction science major Wesley Rayner said he is excited about the opening of a cigar shop.
“I am from Jackson where there are a lot of cigar shops,” Rayner said. “I only smoke [a cigar] about once a month because of the small choice of cigars in Starkville.”
Cleek said there would be a good selection of cigars, and the price range for cigars will be around $5 to $8.
“We don’t want to go so cheap that you can’t get a decent cigar,” Cleek said. “But we don’t want to out-price our consumers, which are college students.”
As far as variety goes, Cleek said the shop would be receiving new products on a regular basis.
“The cigar companies send you new stuff all the time,” Cleek said. “We will also be trading products in and out, and seeing what the best feel is for Starkville.”
While the shop’s main product will be cigars, Starkville Stogies will also sell specialty cigarettes, coffee, hookah and novelty items like cigar boxes painted with MSU themes.
Preparing for the opening Thursday, Cleek hired two employees, including sophomore computer science major Nick Wilhelm. He said he is excited about working in the cigar shop.
“It will be a blast,” Wilhelm said. “I always thought [working in a cigar shop] would be a fun job.”
Wilhelm said he will be doing different jobs and will help manage the shop.
“So far, we have just been trying to get the word out to people and get all the furniture moved in,” Wilhelm said.
Cleek said he believes the shop will be successful because he received good feedback from his professors and others throughout the community. He said he also thinks the location will help promote the store.
“When you are starting a business, location is everything,” Cleek said. “There is a lot of foot traffic through that area.”
Cleek said he has social networked a lot and hopes it proves beneficial to business.
“Word of mouth has been really big,” Cleek said. “Hopefully, a lot of people will come because they know me.”
Wilhelm said he knows the shop will be successful because of the convenience.
“It’s a great location,” Wilhelm said. “The closest cigar shop is all the way in West Point.”
Sophomore political science major Evans Henry said he smokes cigars every once in a while and thinks it is great a new cigar shop is opening.
“I will probably go once or twice a semester,” Henry said. “It is a very good location.”
Starkville Stogies will have a soft opening on Thursday. Cleek said there are a lot of Christmas and seasonal products in for the opening.
“Every one is about to leave town for Christmas break, and we don’t want to stock the whole store up when no one is here,” Cleek said. “We will have the majority of what we will have in the store permanently; it will just be in limited supply.”
Starkville Stogies will have a grand opening in January 2010.
The shop’s hours will be 1 p.m. to 10 p.m. Monday through Wednesday and 1 p.m. until the bars close Thursday through Saturday. The shop will be closed Sundays. Starkville Stogies is located at 100 Maxwell Street, across from Sushi Martini in the Cotton District.