The Downtown area offers just about anything one could possibly want. Both residents and visitors alike have plenty of activities to choose from to occupy their time and keep busy.
But a few years ago, Adrian Plummer noticed a piece of the Downtown puzzle that, to him, was missing. “I noticed there were no contemporary cigar bars Downtown,” he says.
All it took was this one observation and Poppy Love Smoke was born.
But Plummer wasn’t always a cigar lover. In fact, he didn’t even take interest in them until his college graduation, when he received one as a gift. After that Plummer says he was hooked and began frequenting cigar bars where he observed how they ran and the atmospheres they offered.
What he really noticed about Jacksonville’s cigar bars is that most are traditional, meaning they offer mostly cuban-style cigars and most have antique or vintage style decor according to Plummer.
So three years ago, Plummer opened Poppy Love Smoke with the intent of making it one of the more trendy and hip spots to smoke a cigar and like he says, “chillax.”
Until just six months ago, Poppy Love Smoke was only one room featuring a humidor and a small sitting area.
“My foot traffic just wasn’t enough so I decided to open a bar,” he says.
Poppy Love Smoke now includes a second room Plummer calls “the chill side” that includes modern artwork and furniture, plenty of space for jazz bands to play on weekends and a bar area that looks like it came straight out of a trendy Manhattan restaurant. The bar serves wine, beer, liquor and even champagne, but their specialty is the homemade sangria.
“When people come here, I want them to just chill,” Plummer says. “I want my customers to feel cozy and not just be in and out.”
So if you want the full experience of Poppy Love Smoke, remember one simple thing while you’re there — just “chillax.”