Faders

As a new cigar smoker, I am not very knowledgeable. I told the woman working that I was looking for a more mild cigar, and she immediately grabbed one that was $ 3.50. I told her I wanted to look around a bit, and she just stared at me. When I asked for her expertise, she told me that she did not have any and continued to stare at me. The selection is good here, but the employees are not looking to help new people embrace the hobby.
P.S– The parking here is terrible, as the lot is pay to park, but you cannot find where to pay.

It’s been a couple of years since my last review and I thought I would revisit because other reviewers have chimed in. I’ve spent a bit more time here since the last review and have gotten better insight into how things are here.
Michael said they’re the best in the region which is kind of misnomer as they’re pretty much the only place in the region, unless you count that place in Cockeysville, but those people are quite distasteful, especially the father of the owner. I definitely don’t go there, which leaves me pretty much with Faders.
Faders does have lots of space to smoke with two lounge areas, a bar area and plenty of space to stand around and smoke, but the smoke buildup can be hazardous to your health — and no one, except some of the regulars, seems to mind. I’ve heard murmurings amongst some of the regulars about putting in some sort of filtration or exhaust but the employees don’t seem to care and the owners seem disinterested in presenting a clean smoking environment. I know that might seem anachronistic but it would be nice to smoke in a space where the smoky air is flushed out regularly. Some of the people there open the doors but evidently the manager is so hell bent on killing everyone that he insists the doors stay closed but does nothing to alleviate the situation. I think he likes the power trip. Everyone seems to rave about the guy he banned from the shop for walking through the back door. I think that’s the Red Line at this place. Just sounded stupid to me — guess stupid is as stupid does.
Two years later and that manager is still at it. I can’t imagine that the ownership never notices any of this. Since my last review I have seen the owners, they kind of come and go but don’t spend too much time talking to guests. I think if they spent a bit more time on the floor to see the antics of their staff they might actually wake up and start replacing some of these people, like the girl who works there are constantly sits in the lounge seating taking up space, not helping customers and tearing the leather seats. Makes me wonder what kind of home environment this person comes from where placing your shoes on the furniture is an acceptable thing. Oddly enough, of all the staff they should probably have released, they released the big guy I mentioned in the last review — and he seemed to be the more knowledgeable of that motley crew. I just wonder what goes through peoples minds.
The parking is Towson and it can be hit or miss. There are a few spaces out back that are free for paying customers. Gotta be careful about the parking lot to the left of the building and in the back across the alley. Word is that the landowner of those places makes a killing at $ 250 a pop for towing plus something like six bucks an hour on a meter that can hardly be found. I’ve heard of a lot of people being towed and having to pay these ridiculous rates. Better to park on the street or in the county lot next to the pizza joint.
Outside of that, Faders is a pretty good place to go and hang out for a little bit. The selection of cigars is decent, though I don’t know why they refuse to get cigars from places like Drew Estate or some of the other boutique makers. But one thing to remember, if you find a cigar you like there, you better buy quite a few of them because you never know if it will be there next time. From what I’ve been told, the owners only like to buy cigars twice a year and if they run out of your favorite smoke, you’re pretty much screwed. Guess they haven’t quite figured out how to keep cigars in stock on a rotating basis.
It’s also true that you can BYOB and bring your own food and have quite a good time there. I’ve met a number of the regulars and hung out a little with them and they all seem to be pretty decent. Perhaps a little odd but no different than groups of people you find elsewhere.
I’ve been here a lot more since my last review and have some to accept the weird, stupid things that I see here which would get me fired from my own job and just try to enjoy the strange, weird world that is Faders.

I was very surprised to read the negative reviews on here. The day I went to Faders there was a very friendly older gentleman working who was neither rude nor followed me around the store. In fact he stayed outside the humidor when I went in to look around. We chatted for a bit about the local area and about cigars. I thought the experience was great. Faders has a good selection and the patrons were seemingly happy to be spending their time and money there.
Not sure how the other reviewer missed the metered parking signs. I have never been to Towson before and I saw the posted meter signs (on both Allegheny and the small side lot) I don’t believe it’s the shopkeeper’s responsibility to inform the patrons of posted parking regulations. Giving an establishment 1 star because of your own mishap is egregious and deceptive.
Having said that, there is metered parking in front of the store and along the side. Pay the dmeter … Don’t get towed like Karen.

This tobacco shop has a dismal and confusing parking situation that is not entirely the shop’s fault. HOWEVER it is the shop’s responsibility to provide the bare minimum of customer service by ensuring that customers know they must feed the metered parking 24 – 7 in order to patronize the store. Even the store employees admitted they should have warned my husband that parking in the lot would cost him a $ 250 tow fee. Unacceptable. Do not patronize this business.

I’ve been coming to Faders prior to their expansion, and at least once every two months in my 15 years living in Towson. It’s about time I acknowledge them as the best tobacconist in the region.
Things I like:
— Two large lounge areas with comfy leather seating
— Huge humidor selection, from premium Cohiba’s to cheapy flavored smokes (vanilla, pineapple, Kaluha flavored type stuff)
— Flat screen TV’s in HD, with remotes nearby
— Powerful filtration system to keep the air moving when there’s more than 10 people puffing away
— Plenty of equipment and merchandise for purchasing (lighters, humidors, etc.)
— Staff with expertise, guiding decisions for novices and introducing new products
— You can BYOB (or any alcohol) and drag food in as well
Things I Didn’t Like:
— Parking is squirrelly, as there are limited spaces and they all require a couple bucks
Some of the reviews on Unilocal poke at the staff, but I have hosted a few group events there and they always roll out the red carpet for me and my cigar smoking buddies. They let me use their fridge liberally, and they don’t blink when I order 15 pizzas. Yeah, there’s a clique of regulars there smoking their pipes and looking visitors up and down, but isn’t that every neighborhood bar as well? Either way, they never bother me. The staff and guests are just fine.
Simply put, there isn’t another tobacconist in the area that offers all of the features I mentioned, while being located on a picturesque and active street. Yeah, parking can suck sometimes, but no business is perfect. Faders offers what matters most. I think they are the best.

Let me first speak about the selection… the cigar selection here is indeed good. They have a good variety of cigars in the humidor. I even saw some sticks here that I haven’t seen at other shops in the area which is always a plus (but of course there were sticks missing from this shop that I’ve seen at other shops).
I’m not a pipe person so I really don’t know a whole lot about all the various pipe tobaccos but I can say they do have a really nice selection of pipes and tobaccos. They have a nice area of the shop devoted to pipes.
There is a sitting area and the shop is set up really nicely.
My problem here was the watch dog attitude I got from the staff. I’ve been a cigar fan for about 12 years now. I’ve enjoyed lots of different cigars and when I go into a shop I like to be able to peruse the humidor at leisure, see what they have, and see if I want anything.
The staff member there came into the humidor shortly after me and watched me like a hawk the whole time. He asked me if he could help me… asked me about what I liked or what I was looking for. Buuut… he did it in that condescending «you probably don’t know much about cigars and I’m about to prove it» attitude. And I HATE THAT!!! The whole time he was like… what about this cigar? what about that cigar? And he seemed surprised when he saw I knew what I was talking about. Eventually he switched into salesman mode and was determined to just sell me cigars and would not leave me alone to look at the selection in the humidor. It was uncomfortable and I didn’t really enjoy the experience. I eventually bought a Pepin to get him off my back, and I just wanted to get out of there.
I really want to give this shop a lower star rating… but since they have a decent selection and it is a nicely laid out shop… they get some points for that. I hope the rest of the staff is not as annoying as this guy was. ugh!!!

Excellent tobacco shop. More geared towards the pipe smoker yet not neglecting the cigar or fine cigarette smoker. LArge selection of new and estate pipes, a wall full of unique tobacco blends along with a very healthy variety of tinned tobacco. But more importantly the staff is friendly and welcoming, to the newcomer or the seasoned experienced pipe smoker. They are knowledgeable and more than happy to help you or just let you browse. This was a fantastic find for me. Five stars!