As you approach the building at 77 South Section Street in Fairhope, a heady scent of tobacco and the sound of raucous laughter hits your senses long before you even walk into Bouch’s Premium Cigars.

Almost always holding court inside, you’ll find a group of men talking about the important things in life - sports teams, local politics and stories from times past.

This is exactly the sort of community Gene Bouchillon hoped to create when he opened Bouch’s Premium Cigars back in 2012.

“I have been smoking cigars personally for over 24 years now, and, after I retired, I always felt that Fairhope could support a premium cigar store,” Bouchillon said. “In 2012, my wife Mary Jane said ‘Gene, either open the cigar shop or shut up talking about it. I’m tired of hearing about it.’”

Bouchillon took his wife’s advice and with his business partner Jack Milstead opened up in Dec. 2012.

“For the first full year, we had a 108 percent revenue increase in that time frame,” Bouchillon said. “Last year, we sold just over 65,000 premium cigars in our shop. We’re one of the top tobacconist retailers in the state of Alabama now.”

Bouch’s has a large selection of premium cigars, with 385 different types in stock in the store’s walk-in humidor. Bouchillon said 70 percent of the store’s business is local, with another 30 percent coming from visitors to the Fairhope area.

“We try to develop longterm relationships with that 30 percent and ship cigars to them,” Bouchillon said. “We have customers who we do business monthly in California, Arizona, Texas, Georgia and one customer in Maine, so we’re really nationwide.”

Bouchillon said creating a sense of community for his customers has always been an important part of his business.

“People appreciate the sense of comradery that they experience in the cigar shop,” Bouchillon said. “Many people who are customers who are my age, early 60s and late 50s, compare it to their small town barbershop that they grew up with, that type of atmosphere where you can share stories or talk politics or other heavy topics.”

Bouchillon said he and Milstead also focus on trying to find ways to give back to others, which is why they support the Operation Cigars for Warriors program.

“Cigars for Warriors is a non-profit whose mission is to collect cigars to ship to our women and men in combat zones and to our Marines who secure the embassies of the United States throughout the world,” Bouchillon said. “We’re active in that. The last two years, our customers have donated over 2,400 cigars to that organization.”

At an event held Nov. 10 of last year, the store’s customers donated 724 cigars to the program and $600 in cash contributions to ship the cigars.

“A study some years ago told us the single most requested item by service people is premium cigars,” Bouchillon said. “If you think about it, there are limitations in how they can socialize. With much of our combat activities in the Middle East today, there are limitations on what they can do, so cigars are important way for them to relax and relieve stress. That’s important to us.”

Bouchillon said creating educational opportunities about cigars and the cigar industry was also important to him. Just this week, Bouchillon and Milstead will take ten of their customers to Esteli, Nicaragua - the cigar capitol of Nicaragua - on a tour of the Perdomo Farms.

“It’s a five day tour where we will go through from seed collection to seed cleansing all the way to the placing of cellophane on the cigars and boxing for shipment,” Bouchillon said. “Every single step in the cigar manufacturing process, we will cover during that tour.”

Bouchillon said Nick Perdomo, who owns and operates Perdomo Farms, has visited Bouch’s several times over the last few years and he helps employ a good number of people in Nicaragua with quality jobs.

“Tobacco farming is extremely labor intensive, so Nick actually provides jobs for over 4,000 people in Nicaragua,” Bouchillon said. “These are some of the highest paying jobs in the country. He also provides a free medical clinic for his people, as well as insurance coverage. He really takes care of his people, and I think that’s admirable.”

Bouchillon said people don’t think about the impact cigar smoking can have on some of those country’s economies, which is why he’s glad to be able to offer educational trips.

“Sometimes, people don’t think of the economic impact we have in Central America and the Caribbean just from buying cigars, but it is a large industry that gives tens of thousands of people good-paying jobs in their countries,” Bouchillon said. “We’re fortunate and hope to continue this each year because it’s a great educational opportunity for our customers to see the actual growing, manufacturing and production of the cigars - to give them the opportunity to see the impact first hand.”

Bouchillon said that education continues every time a new customer enters Bouch’s doors.

“There is an education process about the type of cigar that one should smoke as a new smoker and that would be determined by the strength of the cigar, the boldness, the different flavors and the country that it’s grown in,” Bouchillon said. “The more we can teach about the cigar mystique, the more likely it will be for those people to come back to our shop.”

Bouchillon was quick to praise the entire Fairhope community for their continued support of his store and small businesses across the city.

“We’re fortunate to have the support of Fairhope in our business and have had great support from other merchants, especially members of the Downtown Merchants Association,” Bouchillon said. “That it probably unique to Fairhope, that merchants really do support each other and send referrals to each other.”

Bouchillon said he was thankful for an environment that supports a place like his store.

“I have found Fairhope to be the most generous community that I have ever lived in,” Bouchillon said. “The support of the community and especially other merchants speaks volumes to the generosity of the people here. I’m grateful for that, and I do not take it for granted.”

Bouchillon said he hopes to be able to grow and expand the business as the years roll on, but added he’s always happy to be able to walk in the store, sit down with a nice cigar and listen to his customers relax and share their stories.

“Several of our customers refer to our shop as their asylum, their place to be able to get away and relax,” Bouchillon said. “It’s been that way for me, too, and I appreciate the sense of community we’ve been able to develop with everyone here.”