The Cigar Vault - Buda, Texas

Adam Zaptose

(10-26-2024 6:45pm) I am not that cigar verse, but I told the employee working that I am a fan of drinking bourbon so then he asked me a couple of questions to help me narrow down the cigar I wanted, and it turned out to be the exact flavor profile that I was looking for. I also had a friend with me who was looking for a cigar based on his coffee preference, and he found a cigar that he liked. The employee working tonight did a phenomenal job and should get a raise based on his cigar knowledge. Unfortunately, I did not catch his name, but he was a great asset tonight.

James Moore

I smoke a lot of cigars. My wife and I were dining next door to this place, so I thought I'd give it a try. The place is very old and rundown from the outside (it looked like the screen door had never been cleaned or replaced) but I tried to give it the benefit of the doubt, which I always try to do with every cigar shop. I went in first and went to the humidor (no door so I don't know how they expected to keep the humidity in) to see what they had. It was very tiny, but I didn't immediately find anything interesting. When my wife followed me into the store a minute or so later, she was carrying some leftover pizza from lunch (in a pizza box) and the guy at the counter said "Ma'am please come out of the humidor with that pizza". Strange, since we are not children and wouldn't have dropped the box or spread pizza sauce around, intentionally. Plus, all the cigars are wrapped in plastic, so there was little to no chance there would have been actual damage to anything. Instead of yelling that from across the store, he could have easily come up to us and asked, "Do you mind leaving the food at the front counter while you browse?" , and we would have been fine with that. But when you yell at (adult) customers from across the store, you're not going to get anything good in return, because you just have no class.

After hearing the way he talked to my wife, I simply walked out and and didn't give them any of my hard-earned cash.

I frequent a cigar store in North Austin which is EXCEPTIONAL, by any measure. I've never been talked down to by anyone there, they're always happy to see me, and I usually drop between $150-$200 on cigars whenever I go. They've also got an incredible air filtration system where you can hardly tell that anybody is smoking in there at all, which was the opposite of this place. That's the kind of service you should receive when doing business with an establishment such as this, not the way we were treated.

UPDATE:
1) What does a decrepit screen door have anything to do with it being an old bank building?
2) The humidor was (literally) a 5'X5' space, so your selection is not what you think it is. Most cigar store humidors are bigger than many rooms in my house; not the size of most single user bathrooms. And that wouldn't have mattered to me if we had been treated right.
3) There was no doubt about the attitude and conveyance of you yelling at us about the food. I guess I'm not surprised that you gave no consideration to the fact that you could have come over to us, and asked politely, not to take food into your "humidor". I might have considered staying for an hour, smoking a cigar and done business with you had that happened. I also might not have written a review like this in the first place. But the vibe you get from some owners/people is so bad up front, why would you ever want to go back and spend $$ there? And the idea that this was all a mistake and you want me to (actually) come back in there and "talk it over" is just damage control at this point. First impressions are important and usually the best metric of how a business operates, on the whole.
4) The fact that you have "other 5 star reviews" means nothing to me. Most people simply have no idea (or experience) as to how they should be treated and many tolerate lousy service, just because they don't know any better. Seen it happen MANY times. And I've been to some incredible cigar stores/smoke shops in my day. Some are awesome; most are lousy. Yours seems definitely the latter. And most guys would rather stay local and "familiar" with what they know and have very low expectations. I differ from most of those guys because the attitude and experience at a business is very important to me, especially if I'm going to spend my hard earned $$ there. I have owned a small business for over 30 years and my attitude and care towards my customers is always what they remark about and appreciate. It's called HUMILITY.

Brian Ramos

Took my son-in-law there and chilled with some cigars and good beer. Excellent atmosphere and friendly folks. Give them a visit if you haven't yet.

Kevin Koelker

Went here on 10/26 in the evening and the dude there was fantastic, helped me find the perfect cigar that tasted like coffee and cream and now that’s all I can think of.

Didn’t get dudes name but he was great. Give him more money.

Joshua buggy

This place is a gem. It was a full house when we stopped in, and many of the patrons welcomed us with friendly hellos. The humidor is full of cigars galore. Had exactly what I was looking for, and even left with a recommended cigar that was definitely the best I’ve ever smoked. Can’t wait to go back.

Brenda Scott

This has to be on your cigar places to stop at.. beautiful building in a downtown area. Takes you back to the good ole days of the picturesque downtown feeling. Owner was very accommodating... they have beer and wine. The humidor is inside an old vault that was built for cigars. They have a great variety of selection of cigars. The place is full of charm and very chill.

Alexander Antillon

Great ambiance, location, and selection. Stop by and grab a stick while enjoying one of the 4 selections of tap beer. Amazing spot!

Joe M

Great selection, friendly and helpful owner/staff, there's both an indoor and outdoor area to enjoy, and they have had live music outside quite a few times as well. Great place to hangout and enjoy a cigar and a beer.