Shore Thing Cigars isn’t like any cigar bar. Owned by Luke Bryan and Paul Copeland, Shore Thing is a lifestyle lounge that offers something different to their customers.
Shore Thing Cigars was opened on July 1, 2016, and as Copeland always says, “Shore Thing Cigars is located on Florida’s beautiful Emerald Coast here in Watersound, Florida right off of highway 30A, which is about 10 miles west of Panama City Beach or 30 miles east of Destin.”
Shore Thing Cigars was created when Bryan and Copeland were floating down the Harpeth River in Nashville, Tennessee catching rainbow trout and smallmouth bass when Copeland brought up that he would love to move to the beach and open up a cigar bar.
The two quickly started talking numbers and within three days Copeland was down in Florida looking at properties. “It happened the same way our friendship happened. It happened over smoking cigars, drinking beer and fishing,” said Copeland.
“When you think of a cigar lounge, you think of dark, smoky and big leather chairs,” said Copeland. Therefore, they call Shore Thing a lifestyle lounge. “It’s light, it’s bright, it’s airy, it’s fun,” said Copeland. When he was designing the lounge, he knew he wanted it to be different. He wanted a place where women and couples were comfortable, not just men.
The shop offers premium cigars all harvested by hand. Every year Copeland and his employees head down to Honduras, Nicaragua or the Dominican Republic to watch the shops cigars start from scratch and meet the people that help with that. They get to see the whole process clear down to the boxes. “It’s amazing to see the cigars journey making it to the U.S. for just 10 dollars,” said Copeland.
The shop also offers beer, wine, champagne, Shore Thing Cigars merchandise, and cigar accessories. The shop has a humidor located in the back made from an old barn in southern Georgia. “It’s not the biggest in the industry, but it is the cleanest and most perfect humidor,” said Copeland.
The shop offers events like trivia night (Thursday nights), karaoke (Friday nights), cigar 101 classes and private events for their top customers. The events make it a great stop for spring breakers as well as lots of shopping on 30A, the live music at the entertainment unit next to Shore Thing and happy hour. “We do happy hour, three-dollar beers and five-dollar wine from 5 to 7 p.m. which is unheard of in this area,” said Copeland.
Some people are lucky enough to see Luke Bryan while visiting the shop, but he can also be seen on Shore Thing Cigars Instagram. The lounge is named after his song called “Shore Thing.” Copeland loves that the two are able to blend and marry their ideas together. “The financial success that he’s had and the hard work that he has done to earn it has allowed the dreams and visions that he and I have to be put into tangibility,” said Copeland.
As for the future of Shore Thing Cigars, Copeland and Bryan are about ready to make their current shop bigger. But over the course of the next eight years, they want to expand and grow by adding five more on the map. As for now, they will continue to work on creating that “wow” atmosphere for their customers.
For more information the lounge’s website is www.shorethingcigars.com and their Instagram is @shorethingcigars