Pipe shop opens in Springs

If you’re looking for a new way to smoke tobacco – and granted, some of the 400 devices are not your grandfather’s pipe – Pipe Pirates, opening today in Boyes Hot Springs, is the place.

The shop offers everything from the Sherlock Holmes model to hand-carved hookahs and multi-chamber glass bongs, with a price range of $7.99 to $499.

“We think it will be a good addition to the Springs,” said co-owner Stan Pappas. “It will keep people from driving to Santa Rosa to buy these products.’

For the record, the products are legal. “We don’t talk about drugs, or marijuana,” Pappas said. “As far as we’re concerned, it’s all for tobacco use. Everything we sell is intended for legal use only.”

No special permits or official permission was required to open the store. The partners shared their plans with the sheriffs department and the Springs Redevelopment Advisory Committee and received no official objection, Pappas said. The only regulation is that customers must be age 18 and above.

The shop plans to sell cigarettes and cigars, and, eventually, branch out into hemp clothing and products, said Mark Burton, the other co-owner. The two each have more than 30 years retail experience.

Pipe Pirates is located at 18332 Sonoma Highway. The previously non-descript storefront – it had been used as a storage space for a neighboring business – is now had to miss. From Burton’s design, it’s now a bright blue, slightly pyshedellic “Caribbean motif.”