A New York State Department of Taxation and Finance officer took the lottery license from Brown’s Cigar Store Wednesday morning, enforcing a one-year suspension of tobacco and lottery licenses for the oldest business in Corning’s Gaffer District.
Terry Smith, owner of Brown’s Cigar Store at 6 W. Market St., said he sold a cigar to a man under 21-years-old on Dec. 18, the second illegal sale in the past three years, resulting in the one-year suspensions.
“I still can’t believe we couldn’t get a plea deal like every other law gets,” Smith said. “It’s just frustrating.”
Brown’s Cigar Store expects to be closed sometime in early April when its tobacco license is also revoked.
“That’s when we expect the tobacco license to be taken, but that’s just our best guess,” Smith said.
What the law says
Points are imposed on a business if the enforcement officer determines, after a hearing, that the retail dealer violated the law with respect to a prohibited sale to a minor. Points assigned to a retail dealer’s record are assessed for 36 months.
Any retail dealer who is assigned points is reinspected at least two times a year by the enforcement officer until the points are removed from the retail dealer’s record. Retail dealers with three points or more have their dealer’sregistration suspended for one year. The points are erased upon completion of the one-year penalty.
The law was updated in 2020.
What’s next for Brown’s Cigar Store
Smith said the loss of the tobacco and lottery licenses will mean the end of the business, which originally opened in 1889.
“We sell the finest cigars, tobacco products, lottery, lighters, pipes, and accessories. But if we can’t sell tobacco and lottery we have to close,” said Smith, who added that the loss of licenses was not a punishment but an elimination of the business.
Fellow Gaffer District members frustrated, saddened
Other businessowners in Corning’s Gaffer District expressed frustration and sadness over the outcome at Brown’s Cigar Store, whose origins date back well over a century.
“It’s absolutely terrible to put a family out of business,” said Robert Pierri, who has owned R&M Restaurant on Market Street for more than 50 years. “It just doesn’t make sense. A 20-year-old can go fight a war, get shot at, but they can’t buy a cigar. This type of fine and suspension is just ridiculous.
“Brown’s Cigar Store has been a staple of this town forever,” Pierri added. “It’s just insane, but that’s just New York state. I hate New York state because they will do anything they can to beat the little guy.”
Donna Robbins, longtime owner of Donna’s Restaurant, called the ongoing situation extremely sad.
“They have been in business for more than 100 years,” Robbins said. “It’s just sad. To see this just makes you mad.”
Joe Carey, owner of Carey’s Brewhouse on Bridge Street, has owned a bar in the Gaffer District for more than 30 years. Carey called hearing about the situation at Brown’s Cigar Store “upsetting.”
“It’s so sad. To take these licenses you’d think it would be for something a little worse,” Carey said. “I feel so bad for the family.”
Rick Maxa, a former member of the Corning Gaffer District Board of Directors and Market Street business owner, said he has known the Smith family, Terry, Sue and BeJay, for many years and wishes a different resolution could have been reached.
“There are things that the state should have taken into consideration, like the fact that Brown’s Cigar Store has been around for so long, and this was not something done on purpose,” Maxa said. “It’s going to be a big loss for the Gaffer District. It’s just earth shattering to the town.”
Catherine Price, executive director of the Corning Gaffer District, noted that Brown’s Cigar Store has been a part of the fabric of Market Street since 1889, with the Smith family leading the business for over 80 years.
“Terry, in addition to being an owner/operator for over 40 years, has always been a community-minded individual committed to downtown Corning,” Price said. “He served for many years on the Gaffer District’s Board of Directors. The closing of Brown’s is a meaningful loss that will be felt.”
A look at the store’s history
The story of Brown’s Cigar Store starts with a world-renowned acrobat.
The original owner of the shop, John Comosh, was a circus legend known for performing a triple somersault. He was also a merchant, alderman and Corning civic leader. He helped establish Denison Park and was named to the Steuben County Hall of Fame.
Comosh opened the store in 1889, which doubled as a barbershop where customers could also buy steamship tickets.
It became Dale’s Smoking Parlor in 1903 until it was sold to W.E. Brown, who with Harry Brown renamed the shop Brown’s Cigar Store.
Current owner Terry Smith’s father, B.J., started working at the store in 1931 when he was just 15. He bought the store in 1948.
B.J. Smith was known for promoting tourism in Corning through the store, knowing the shop received heavy traffic because of the product mix and location.
A column printed in the Corning Leader shortly after B.J.’s death in 1989 called him “the person who did more than anyone to help tourism in Corning.”
After their father’s death, Terry and his sister, Sue Smith, took over ownership and continued the store’s tradition. Their brother, BeJay, joined them a few years later.
Terry was already well-known in the Crystal City. He was a Steuben County Legislator, Boy Scouts leader, volunteer firefighter and member of the city police commission and zoning board of appeals.
In the half century the siblings have been at the helm of Brown’s Cigar Store, they’ve continued to be a permanent fixture, playing witness as the Corning community has evolved around them.
This article originally appeared on The Leader: Brown’s Cigar Store in Corning one step closer to closing. Community reacts
Reporting by Jeff Smith, Corning Leader / The Leader
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