Hellam’s Tobacco Shop

Hellam’s is the best. Please support this iconic establishment. Can’t understand any review under 4 stars. Wyatt is the best.

Love this place! They have a great selection and are very helpful and friendly. I now have new friends to visit when I am in Monterey.

Awesome place. The owner always remembers us and what we like to buy. If they don’t have something you’re looking for, just ask, they may be able to get it!

Great service, was very patient while I chose what tobacco I wanted. Will keep going!

If I could, I would give Hellam’s 15 stars. They have the best selection of top notch cigars — Opus & Anejo. In fact, Wyatt busted out an extremely aged Anejo that I smoked tonight and it was fantastic with. Coming from the Nashville, TN area, all our local stores can’t offer near the selection they do and if they ever opened a shop here, they would put everyone out of business. Wyatt and Edie (sp?) are great tobacconists and this shop is a hidden gem. I’ll be back in May for a national meeting and can’t wait to take the crew over.

Old school tobacco shop like the ones where my dad used to take me when he bought pipe tobacco for smoking when he puttered around in his garage.
Fantastic selection. Always friendly, low pressure, knowledgable customer service.

Nice shop! Good selection. I had my list of desired sticks with me and the tobacconist assisted me right away to locate ones that I wanted. Very nice place!

Okay selection. But the customer service was dreadful. I walked in with my partner and browsed for a bit then asked the woman at the counter if they had a certain brand of cigar. To which she responded no, then proceeded to ask for my ID. She asked for mine AND my companion’s. (I am 19 she is 18) now I was the only one interested and going to purchase my partner was not. Now, because I had my ID but my girlfriend did not, she asked us to leave and go get both IDs. Now this is plain ridiculous, as only the person buying and intending to smoke should be carded. Just for that, she got very upset and told us to leave and return later (before 8 pm she said). I will not return, you have lost my business and you have a very rude customer service which needs to be reworked.

Very nice shop except they have no idea of the prices in the rest of the world.

Nice selection of cigars.
Good selection of bulk pipe tobacco’s and in-​house blends.
Knowledgeable staff.
An old school B&M worth checking out.

Anyone who has an appreciation for cigars will surely enjoy Hellam’s Tobacco Shop. I can very much tell that the owner has a genuine interest in cigars and is very knowledgeable on the subject matter. He is also courteous, thoughtful, and welcoming to customers (Though I was not the only customer, he pretty elegantly made sure everyone was attended to all the while being amiable and filled with good conversation… my significant other described it as reminding him of an old school barbershop).
I would especially recommend Hellam’s over other tobacco shops to out-​of-​town visitors due to its location. It is located on Alvarado Street (which also has a great farmers market on Tuesday). The parking there is quite easy to find and it is pleasure to take a nice evening stroll on this street which eventually dead-​ends at fisherman’s wharf. I believe the shop is actually open a bit later than mentioned on Unilocal but I’d call to be certain.
One note, there isn’t lounge like seating in the store, but I wouldn’t let that be discouraging. If you definitely want to relax for the evening and need to sit, walk a couple blocks down the street from Hellam’s to Hartnell Street for a good dram and a spacious patio heated by a multitude of firepits (1833 Restaurant).
All-​in-​all Hellam’s Tobacco Shop is a very nice place! I gather that the business is the oldest continuing cigar shop on the West Coast (Est. 1897).
And a few other things they sell are:
–bourbons and whiskies
–Pipes, tobacco, humidors
–Dunhill, Natt Shermans… etc.
Hope this review is helpful!

interesting, colorful, lots of stories, very interesting stories. If you want to talk cigars and history, this place has stories, lots of them. Look carefully at the Scotch and Whiskey, there are hidden gems! The stock seems to be small but moving through, and the accessories are looking real good! Enjoy.

First place I ever purchased a cigar from so they have a special place in my heart. Its a large shop with a good selection of stogies along with all the accouterments. Its right on Alvarado so I usually get coffee at Peet’s then hit here or if I hit Hellam’s first I get coffee at Plumes and then light up and walk down Alvarado to the small seating area near Fisherman’s wharf or stroll down the bike path.
I really wish Hellam’s was more of a lounge than just a shop. Its large enough to be one. And yes there can be some real characters in here but they are all friendly, leave your paranoia at home and just relax.

Customer service sucks here!
This review is after the second visit to this place. The first time the customer service sucked I gave them the benefit of the doubt thinking that perhaps they were having a bad day. This last time when I didn’t even get acknowledged I knew that it wasn’t just a bad day. I purchased my items and left.

Since I am displaced, working a contract job in Monterey, California. I thought I would go to the local tobacco shop. The selection for Pipe items were very slim but they did have a nice quantity of house blends to choose from. I spoke with Wyatt for awhile, really nice guy. We spoke about the impact online retailers have had on his shop, the impact on most brick and mortar shops. Overall, a very nice shop and good conversation. If I’m here any length of time, I would definitely go back.

Dear Strange One-​Eyed Man Behind the Counter Who Stared at Me the Whole Time I was in the Shop,
You might consider saying «hello» back to a customer when they walk into your shop and say «hello» to you. Especially when the shop is dead empty and I’m the only human being within earshot. As it was, you didn’t make a peep when I looked you in the eye and greeted you. You simply stared at me the entire time I was in your shop and made me feel rather uncomfortable. So I left after about 3 minutes.
You know, it occurs to me that attitude is a big part of sales. You might try opening up with:
«Hi, how are ya!»
«Hello there!»
or my personal favorite,
«Can I help you find anything?»
Good luck with future sales. I’m sure that this is just some misunderstanding and I didn’t get the memo that tobacco shop employees require a secret handshake in order to be civil.

Regardless of being tagged as a «man’s store», Hellam’s has always made me feel welcome. Excellent selection of cigarettes, cigars, and tobacco, whatever you prefer. They have lots of ‘gift’ type merchandise, from sophisticated chess sets to shaving kits.
The staff is incredibly helpful and friendly. I walked in with two pipes my grandfather gave me, and they gave me a thorough introduction to smoking a pipe.
I’m unsure about the prices for cigars, but the cigarettes are about on-​par, keeping in mind that imported cigarettes are going to be a bit more expensive. This is one of only two places I know of in Monterey where you can buy Kamel Reds. Their ‘stuff’ is on the expensive side, but not unreasonably.
Oh yeah… and you can smoke inside! WIN.

Ah, Hellam’s! The first thing that greets you upon entering is fragrant smoke. This is not the toxic cloud of acrid cigarette smoke that used to whack you in the nose when you went into a bar or club; instead, this is a mix of earthy, pungent cigar smoke and multiaccent pipe smoke, with highlights of quality cigarettes and undertones of as-​yet unlit tobacco.
They feature a wide range of smoking substances and smoking paraphernalia. They have an enormous selection of pipe tobacco, most of it blended on the premises. Bring in your pipe and try anything they have for free; buy as much or as little as you like. They sell it by the ounce, and the prices are extremely reasonable.
As other reviewers have noted, they also have a gazillion trinkets and tchotchkes, many of them manly bladed things. One of the few politically incorrect places left, it’s a great place to hang out and revel in one’s masculinity – but women are welcome too. (But ladies – can’t you let us be men, at least sometimes?)
Health Nannies not welcome. Go foist yourselves elsewhere.

Founded in 1897 Hellam’s is the oldest continuing cigar store on the west coast. It is everything you could ask for in a men’s emporium of smokes, booze, and really cool guy stuff like pocket knives, swords…
I don’t smoke cigars but once in a blue moon, but I will go out of my way to spend a half hours soaking up the aroma, and conversation offered in this one-​of-​a-​kind place left for our enjoyment.

This place is entertaining. There is all kinds of cool stuff here to look at. They have a good cigar selection and their prices aren’t too bad.
This is just one of those stores that you go into because something unusual catches your eye in the front window and your curiosity gets the best of you.