Octopus Garden Smoke Shop

Octopus Garden Smoke Shop has been part of the Asheville landscape since 1993, and locals will tell you it has more than earned its strong reputation over those decades. Walk through the door and the first thing regulars mention is the feeling of the place. As one longtime customer put it, you can feel the positive vibes as soon as you step inside. It is not a huge store, but people who shop here swear it takes real time to take in everything on the shelves, and there is always something you overlooked on the last visit.

The cigar selection is where this shop really shines. Ask anyone who knows their smokes and they will point you to the humidor: Arturo Fuente, Padron favorites like My Father and Perdomo, plus Drew Estate, Rocky Patel, Montecristo, Romeo y Julieta, Ashton, Alec Bradley, CAO, Gurkha, Cohiba, Macanudo, Brickhouse and more. For hookah folks, they keep Al Fakher shisha on hand. There is a serious spread of tobacco and roll your own supplies too, including bulk tobacco and, as one regular pointed out, a wider run of cigarette papers and cotton filters than you will find at most other spots around town.

They also stock glass pipes and water pipes, tobacco pipes, vaporizers, CBD and hemp products, cigarettes, and a long list of accessories from grinders to scales. The staff is a big part of why people keep coming back for years at a time. Ask for Al if he is working; regulars single him out as someone who always looks out for them and takes care of newcomers just the same. The word around Asheville is that if they do not have your cigarette brand, they will order it and keep it in stock for you.

A few folks find prices run a touch higher than the cheapest tobacco spots nearby, but most say the quality and the attention make it worth it. There is a solid loyalty program too, with a free shirt every year. Between the selection, the knowledge behind the counter, and that welcoming feel, this is one of the most well-regarded smoke shops in Asheville.