Cigars: Cigar Shops

Author: Daniel B. Honigman

Smoking goes underground, except in the last vestiges of public smoking opportunities left in the city of Chicago.

Chicago is the type of town in which you do business over a steak and a cigar. But, with the recently passed smoking ban making it illegal to smoke in restaurants and bars, you won’t be able to enjoy a stogie where you chow down.

No sweat. The Windy City has some great spots for you to light up. With Supercuts chain stores replacing barbershops, and with men’s clubs all but extinct, cigar shops are some of the best places to enjoy a drink, a smoke and some good conversation. You know, the necessities.

In the summer, you can certainly pick up a cigar at any liquor store; then walk around while you enjoy it. In the winter, however, you may want to stay indoors. And Chicago has some of the nation’s best shops.

Open since 1857, Iwan Ries & Co. is a place where you can find old-world comforts, service—and prices—all at once. With a great selection of cigars, pipes and pipe tobacco, you can kick up your feet in their new, 1200-sq.-ft. smoking lounge for a few hours and talk cigars or politics—a nice option for having a cigar in the city of Chicago without weathering the elements. Also, find great smoking accessories here, from humidors to lighters, and more.

Jack Schwartz Importer is one of the finer cigar shops in the Windy City. And since it’s right by the Chicago Board of Trade, you can stop by during lunch to see high-strung traders cooling off with 20-buck stogies. It’s a place to both see—the views, of course—and to be seen.

There’s no contest: Up Down Cigar owner Diana Silvius is Chicago’s tobacco “grande dame.” Former president of the RTDA, the tobacco retailer’s trade association, Silvius features a great cigar selection, and her personal line of cigars is worth checking out as well. Up Down is nestled in Chicago’s historic Old Town neighborhood.

What Hubbard and State Cigar Shop doesn’t have in square footage, it makes up in selection, service and conversation. Hubbard and State is easily one of the best shops in town, and the service is impeccable. If you don’t know what to get, just ask for Raki (pronounced “Rocky”), the owner, and he’ll pick something nice out for you.

At Binny’s Beverage Depot, you may not get the ambiance of an old-school tobacco shop. In fact, you’ll get the opposite; it’s is a chain of discount liquor stores. But each Binny’s has a well-stocked humidor with low priced-cigars.

The oddball of the bunch, Blue Havana is located in The Alley, a strip of hipster-type stores in the city’s Lakeview neighborhood. While it may be a trek from the Loop, it is home of one of the city’s largest humidors. For a real Chicago experience, pick up a stogie and take a walk up to Wrigley Field.

SOME SHOPS:
Iwan Ries & Co.
19 S. Wabash Ave., 2^nd floor
Chicago, IL 60603
(312) 372-1306
http://IwanRies.com

Jack Schwartz Importer
141 W. Jackson Blvd.
Chicago, IL 60604
(312) 782-7898
http://JackSchwartz.com

Up Down Cigar
1550 N. Wells St.
Chicago, IL 60610
(312) 337-8025
http://UpDownCigar.com

Blue Havana
856 W. Belmont Ave.
Chicago, IL 60657
(773) 477-4277
http://myspace.com/bluehavanachicago

Hubbard and State Cigar Shop
6 W. Hubbard St.
Chicago, IL 60610
(312) 670-0687
http://HubbardStateCigar.com

Binny’s Beverage Depot
213 W Grand Ave
Chicago, IL 60610
http://Binnys.com

Donofrio’s Double Corona
2058 W. Chicago Ave.
Chicago, IL 60622
(773) 342-7820

Jorgio Cigar Inc.
320 S. Halsted St.
Chicago, IL 60661
(312) 906-9500

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