Smokin in Orlando

Recently, we've been asking business owners who win our local best-of competitions to share with us their story. How did they get started? What are they known for? And of course, how do they promote themselves? Storefront signage is a big part of how our contests establish legitimacy year-over-year in each city. Harry Smooth's Tobacco Shop takes advantage of this to promote its victory -- it also uses contest logos for its websites to drive visitors to its winner's profile.

We profiled Harry Smooth’s Tobacco Shop -- which is outside of Orlando in Titusville -- last October because we love the note the owner sent us about his family business. We also want to let you all know that if you're looking for a great place to view a Space Shuttle launch, this could be the spot.

Here's the note:

Harry Smooth’s Tobacco Shop began long ago when Harry was just a boy, watching his Father light up Big Cuban Cigars with his friends. I loved the Smell of them even back then, and my Dads favorite Cigar Shop, which was on Orange Ave near the Firestone Building in Downtown Orlando, was old, and Dusty, but all the “Old Men” would gather there, most of which were prominent Orlando Businessmen at the time. I remember they would light up, have a belt of Bourbon, and tell lots of stories, while giving us kids a little bottle of coke and a pack of Toms Crackers. With this in mind I started Harry Smooth’s back in 2003 in Historic Downtown Titusville and been going strong ever since. Keeping with the history I remember, Harry Smooth’s is reminiscent of an old time Cigar Shop, with lots of Curios, Leather, and Oddities and of course the Finest Super Premium Cigars available in Central Fl. Harry Smooth’s is in the Historic Downtown District, perfect for watching the Shuttle launches from our back deck. We have our “A-List 2008 Winner” status prominently displayed on our Front Glass Windows, Doors, Website and Our A-List 2008 Winner Certificate is Framed and hangs proudly on our wall.

Here is an example of how Harry Smooth's is using a contest logo to let people who visit their website know they're one of the best businesses in the Orlando area.


Our partner in Orlando is a local NBC affiliate www.wesh.com. They call their contest the "A-List". In 2008, they collected more than 44,000 votes to determine approximately 100 local winners.