Tobacco Store Opens on Agoura Road

The only store in Calabasas that exclusively sells tobacco products is now open at Malibu Canyon Plaza on Agoura Road, and some fellow tenants in the shopping center said they didn't mind the line of work of their new neighbor.

Tobacco Royale, which opened up shop this week, deals primarly in cigarettes, cigars, hookahs and smoking pipes.

Owner Shubyre Humkar said he was well aware of Calabasas' second-hand smoke ordinance, which prohibits smoking in public places, but still saw potential for a strong clientele.

"There may be no smoking out in public, but I'm sure there's a lot of people that smoke; they just keep it in their households," he said.

Humkar added that he wanted to open his business in Calabasas because the area gets a lot of traffic from other communities, such as Malibu.

Neil Shore, an employee at Pacific Computers at Malibu Canyon Plaza, said he shared similar sentiments.

"I don’t mind, and there’s definitely a niche market," he said, adding: "Let's see if it survives here."

Mike Demirjian, owner of Fantasy Jewelers, said he too doesn't mind his new neighbor, and pointed out that the across the street sells tobacco products.

But local resident Ryan Marshall, who noticed Tobacco Royale earlier this week, said he questioned the location of the establishment.

"[I'm] trying to stay impartial because I don't want to sabotage this new business," Marshall said in an email. "However, I think that Calabasas is historically a bedroom community with a lot of kids, and it may not be the best use of the space." Noting that in the current economic climate it was understandable for the property owner to want to rent the store space, he said, "I guess it's a sign of the times."

Local zoning laws allow Humkar to sell tobacco products at Malibu Canyon Plaza, said Tom Bartlett, a planner with the city of Calabasas. A liquor store that sold cigarettes and alcohol preceded Humkar's business at the shopping center, he said.

Humkar recently faced some code enforcement issues.

Bartlett said the city issued a warning to Humkar because there was a complaint that one of his customers was smoking outside his business.

Humkar said he apologized to the city and said he would put up signs in front of the store reminding patrons that they are not allowed to smoke on the property.

"I told them I'd put up signs and do whatever I can to comply," he said.

The Simi Valley resident, who owns tobacco store Cigstar in Thousand Oaks and is working to open a Tobacco Royale in Newbury Park, said he plans on having two or three employees staffing the Calabasas location and that they would regularly require IDs from customers.

Three times a year, local Los Angeles County sheriff's deputies conduct sting operations by sending undercover minors to try to buy packs of cigarettes and see if store clerks check IDs.

If a clerk doesn't card the customer, the city could prohibit the business from selling tobacco products for three months, if it's a first-time violation.

Humkar said in addition to regular ID checks, he plans to purchase an ID card scanner to verify ages. He said not being able to sell his kind of inventory, which is almost entirely made up of tobacco products, for three months would be devastating to his business.

"You're talking about three months' worth of overhead, rent going out of my pocket," he said.