Smokers now have a place to buy cigarettes, cigars, hookah supplies, pipe tobacco and more on the cheap in Scotts Valley.
Fine Tobacco Shop in Scotts Valley opened its doors Nov. 15 in the Victor Square shopping center, next door to Scotts Valley Market.
Owner Victor Deo, originally from San Jose, saw an opening in the market and decided to jump on it.
“There are no other cigarette stores here,” Deo said. “People have to drive all the way down to Santa Cruz, and our prices are really good.”
Deo touts packs of Marlboro cigarettes for $4.59, when convenience stores and gas stations sell them for close to $6 per box.
“Everybody is charging high prices here,” Deo said. “It’s a really high margin. We are 15 to 20 to 30 percent less than other people.”
The shop also sells fine imported cigarettes, Cuban cigars, hookah and tobacco pipes and loose tobacco.
Deo, a sports fan, also sells memorabilia from Bay Area professional teams on the shelves of the tidy shop.
However, he is unhappy to see tobacco products so heavily taxed.
“(The government) keeps raising taxes on tobacco only,” Deo said, noting an increase in July.
In California, there is a $0.87 cigarette tax on each box of 20 cigarettes, plus a 33.02 percent surtax on the wholesale cost of each box. There is also a $1 federal tax per pack.
Cigarettes Cheaper was the latest smoke shop in Scotts Valley. It closed its doors on Mount Hermon Road several years ago.
In the month his shop has been open, Deo has met many people, and he said he likes the neighborhood.
“Scotts Valley people are really nice,” he said. “I don’t see any crime. I like it better than San Jose. There, one side is good and one side is bad.”
At a glance
What: Fine Tobacco Shop
When: 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. daily, closed Sundays
Where: 16 Victor Square, Ste. F
Info: 430-9700
