Brown’s Cigar Store, the oldest business in Corning’s Gaffer District, is expected to close in the coming weeks.
Terry Smith, owner of Brown’s Cigar Store at 6 W. Market St., said on Dec. 18 he sold a cigar to a man under 21-years-old.
“He looked thirtyish to me,” Terry Smith said. “It was my mistake. Then a guy from the State Health Department, in Hornell, came to the store and said the person you just sold to was underage.”
Smith said it was the second illegal sale at Brown’s Cigar Store in the past three years, resulting in a one-year suspension of its tobacco and lottery licenses.
“We had a court hearing at the State Health Department, in Hornell, in late February,” Smith said. “The judge was on Zoom, but the Health Department people were at the hearing. We thought we’d get the one-year suspensions reduced, but that didn’t happen. I was dumbfounded.”
Smith said members of the State Health Department said fines are negotiable, but suspensions are mandatory.
Brown’s Cigar Store expects to be closed by the New York State Tax Department, which suspends the licenses, sometime in early April.
“We haven’t received any official notification to this point,” Smith said.
What’s next for Brown’s Cigar Store
Smith said the loss of its tobacco and lottery licenses will mean the end of the business, which originally opened in 1889.
“What do you do if you can’t sell tobacco or lottery for a year?” Terry Smith asked. “We’ve been here for 136 years. My family has run this store for about 80 years. 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.”
Terry Smith said it’s not a punishment, it’s an elimination.
“My brother, Bejay, always says we’ve been through two world wars, major depressions, any number of economic downturns, and it takes the legislation to put us out of business,” Terry Smith said.
Terry Smith said he has contacted State Assemblyman Phil Palmesano, R-Corning, and State Senator Tom O’Mara, R-Horseheads, to see if anything can be done to eliminate the license suspensions.
Corning cigar store, building are for sale
Smith said the 6 W. Market St. two-story building and the cigar store are for sale.
“A new person can get the tobacco and lottery licenses needed,” Terry Smith said. “If a person wants to buy the building and the store, I’d like to sell it all as is.”
Terry Smith said anyone interested in the building and the business can call Brown’s Cigar Store at 607-962-2612.
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: Historic Brown’s Cigar Store expects to close soon in Corning. Here’s why
Reporting by Jeff Smith, Corning Leader / The Leader
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