Smokey Shay's GSO

Smokey Shay's GSO has been serving Greensboro since 2011, and the word around town is that no other shop in the city quite compares. Ask anyone who shops here and they'll point you to the selection first: cigarettes and cigars from Camel, Marlboro, Pall Mall, American Spirit, Newport, White Owl and Game, plus a deep wall of rolling papers and cones from RAW, Elements, Juicy Jay's, Blazy Susan, King Palm, Bambu and Shine 24K Gold. If you roll your own, this is the kind of place where you'll actually find what you're after. The vape and disposable side is well stocked too, and hookah fans have plenty to work with here, with Khalil Mamoon and Sahara pipes alongside shisha from Starbuzz, Al-Fakher, Fumari, Tangiers and Fantasia.

You'll also find glass pipes and water pipes, tobacco pipes, grinders, vaporizers and a full range of smoking accessories. They carry kratom and CBD and hemp lines too, with names like O.P.M.S., MIT45, Earth Kratom, Remarkable Herbs and Club 13 on the shelves. Locals also mention that they represent local artists in the shop, which gives the place some real character. Where this shop really earns its regulars is the people.

We've heard glowing things about Jordan and John, who once tracked down a customer to return a wallet that had been missing for months, and about Suzi, Nairobi, Mackenzie, Alex, Celeste, Lila, Kiria and Brock, who are known for being knowledgeable, easygoing and genuinely helpful. More than one person has told us the crew will special-order a product when it's out of stock so you get exactly what you came for. One regular put it simply: best smoke shop in the city. A heads up worth passing along: they card everyone, every single time, and a few folks find that a bit much.

That's the law doing its job, and most people here take it in stride. Open late and easy to get to, it's a spot Greensboro keeps coming back to.