Mermaid Liquor & Tobacco

Ask anyone who shops here and they'll tell you the Mermaid is one of those Cape Coral spots that has earned its reputation the honest way. It's a liquor store, sure, but tucked inside is a real smoke shop with a bigger selection than the name might lead you to expect. Locals keep coming back for the tobacco side of things: cigarettes, cigars, tobacco pipes, roll your own supplies, and a solid wall of rolling papers. If you vape, the word around town is they carry vapes, disposables, e-liquid and vape juice, with good pricing on cartridges and quick in and out service.

The glass selection gets real praise too. We've heard the glassware here runs deep, from glass pipes and water pipes to oil burners and glass bubbles, all at prices people find reasonable. That combination of variety and fair pricing comes up again and again from the folks who shop here regularly. One thing that makes this place a little different is the bar side.

It's a cute, easy going spot with a lot of regulars, and more than one person has said it feels nostalgic, the kind of dark, old school bar you don't see much anymore. The bartenders, Ashley, Morgan, Sara and Gina, get plenty of love for good drinks at fair prices, and ladies night is known for being genuinely cheap. The other thing people mention constantly is convenience. It's open late, past midkight most nights, so it's the place folks think of for a night cap or a late run when everything else has closed.

Add in the Florida Lottery and scratch offs and you've got a spot that covers a lot of ground. As one regular put it, come on, it's the Mermaid. If you've been in Cape Coral a while, you already know. If not, it's worth a stop.