By Jason Wesseldyk
Sports Editor
The City of Plainwell recently welcomed the newest business to its downtown shopping district.
Smoke City Smoke Shop held its grand opening on Friday, Sept. 1, complete with a ribbon-cutting ceremony at 10 a.m.
Smoke City is located at 126 E. Bridge St. Scheduled hours of operation are 9 a.m. to 8 p.m. Mondays through Thursdays; 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. Saturdays and Sundays; and 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Sundays.
Daimen Compton, one of the store’s managers, said the goal of store employees is to create a welcoming environment where customers can find quality products at a reasonable price.
“We try to make it as friendly as can be and as cheap as possible,” he said. “When people come in, we want them to feel welcome and to be able to find what they need.”
Products carried at Smoke City include cigarettes and disposable vapes.
“We also carry glass (vape) pieces as well as vape risers and 510 thread batteries,” Compton said. “Basically, we cover everything you could expect to see when you go to a smoke shop. Our goal is to have everything you’re looking for.”
Smoke City also has a humidor for the cigar lovers in the community.
“The humidor is really nice,” Compton said. “We carry a lot of fine cigars in there. It’s just for the people who enjoy cigars and want to relax. And anybody can try cigars.”
And what if a customer is looking for a particular product that’s not currently in stock?
“If we don’t have something, we’ll do our best to get it for them,” Compton said. “We want to be that one-stop shop for people.”
This is the third Smoke City to open in Michigan. The other two are in Eaton Rapids and Michigan Center near Jackson.
According to Compton, Plainwell seemed like a perfect location to expand the franchise.
“Coming through the town, we saw that there’s a ton of people in this area and only one other smoke shop on the other side of town,” he said. “And we have shops in a couple of other small towns that have worked out really well, so we figured we’d be that place for Plainwell.
“Now, residents can get everything they’re looking for right here without having to drive very far. It seemed like a great fit and we’re excited to be here.”
Fellow manager Jeet Sing echoed those sentiments.
“Stop in and see us,” Sing said. “We look forward to meeting the people in the community and to be able to serve them.”
Smoke City is offering deals throughout the month of September to celebrate its grand opening. You can reach them by phone at (269) 204-6100.