Mens Night Out: Kensington Tobacconist

A couple of weeks ago, I was in my local cigar shop, Kensington Tobacconist, when I got to talking to the owner about upcoming events. What I learned was that an event was in the works which was a little different from the norm. Rather than have an event which focused on a brand to promote sales, Kurt told me about a joint promotion he had in the works with other local businesses.

Due to the economy slowing down over the past year, some of the local shops in West Reading are having a difficult time competing with the Berkshire Mall and VF Outlets on the other side of town. In an effort to promote one another, a few shops wanted to get together in one location and get the word out about their shops.

When the day of the event came around, I headed over to Kensington to see what was going on. Shortly after arriving, I had a cigar in one hand and a glass of Old Weller Bourbon in the other. I got to talking to Kurt for a few minutes before we were joined by another regular, which I hadn’t met before the event.

After a little conversation, I headed upstairs to the lounge to grab something to eat. The food was prepared by GNA Italian Ristorante, just a few stores down from the cigar shop. Having had GNA food on a number of occasions before, I was more than happy to dig in. Just as expected, the food was fantastic.

After eating and having a little small talk with a couple of the other regular customers, I headed to a separate room on the second floor to take a look at some displays that were set up. What I found was some very nice stuff from a few local businesses I had no idea even existed.

Following some more conversation, we got word that the fashion show was set to begin shortly. We all made out way to the temporarily smoke-free basement to take a look at some clothes. One of the presenters was Jon King from Sharp Dressed Man.

Recently relocated to West Reading, Sharp Dressed Man is located directly across the street from the Kensington Tobacconist parking lot. Every week, for the past several months, I have been getting out of my car and seeing the store across the street. Judging by the window display, I never though the store would have anything inside to suit my taste.

After seeing two suites, I had an entirely different outlook on the store. Not only were they some good looking suites, they were surprisingly affordable. I was so impressed, I actually purchased a suite the following day after my Friday visit to the cigar shop.

In addition to suites from Sharp Dressed Man, we were shown some Ladies Lingerie and Lounge Wear from LiLiBea’s. Robin Horman, Founder of LiLiBea’s, had two absolutely stunning women show us six outfits in all. Unlike Sharp Dressed Man, I had never heard of LiLiBea’s before the event. Having been impressed with the presentation, I made my way over to see Robin later on that evening, to purchase a gift certificate for my wife.

After leaving LiLiBea’s, I headed back to Kensington for one final cigar and a cup of coffee. That one cigar actually turned into two as Kurt, Joe (from Camacho Cigars), and I got to talking about the cigar industry. I wound up heading home about an hour after closing time. In addition to having a great time, I discovered a few local businesses that I’ll definitely be purchasing from again.

Even though there were not any deals or specials going on for cigar purchases, I had a blast and hope to see an event like this again in the future. Even though this was not a manufacturer centric event, Joe from Camacho made sure that all patrons received a complimentary Camacho Cigar for coming out to the shop.