Hickory’s Best Smoke Shop

Hickory’s Best Smoke Shop has earned a strong following around Hickory, North Carolina, and the reason locals keep coming back is pretty simple: they never close. Open 24 hours, lobby and drive-through both, this is the spot people find when their usual shop is still locked up at 8am. More than one regular has told us the same story, needing something early and getting greeted with a smile and real help before most places even flip the sign to open. Ask anyone who shops here and Owen's name comes up fast.

People walk in strangers and leave feeling like family, and that welcoming, easygoing atmosphere is a big part of the appeal. One regular described being treated like they were hanging out at their best friend's house. Owen has a reputation for knowing his stuff too. When someone came in for their usual and the shop had just run out, he steered them to something that fit exactly what they needed, no pushing the pricey stuff, no gimmicks.

That kind of honest recommending is what people around here trust. On the shelves you'll find disposable vapes, a solid range of vapes, and plenty of e-liquid and vape juice to choose from. If they don't happen to have what you're after, the team will offer to order it in, and folks talk warmly about the fair prices and the occasional discount that shows up at checkout. The staff overall get high marks for patience and product knowledge, happy to pull anything down off the shelf so you can take a look.

Now, we'll be straight with you: the drive-through service has drawn the odd grumble, with a few people saying they couldn't always get someone to the window. If you're in a hurry, a quick glance at the window tells you what you need to know. That aside, the word around Hickory is that this is one of the more reliable late-night and early-morning stops in town, and most who give it a shot end up regulars.