Toad’s Tobacco Celebrates Opening
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Toad’s Tobacco owners Joey Nelson, Morgan Dignowity and Joshua Baker are joined by Water Valley Mayor Tommy Reynolds and Water Valley Area Chamber of Commerce ambassadors for a ribbon-cutting ceremony Sept. 5. The business is located at 222 Blackmur Drive.
WATER VALLEY — What began as a shared interest among three college friends has grown into a new business on the Water Valley business scene.
Toad’s Tobacco, owned by Joey Nelson, Morgan Dignowity and Joshua Baker, celebrated its grand opening with a Water Valley Area Chamber of Commerce ribbon cutting on Sept. 5.
The three owners met while attending college in Oxford, where a shared interest in cigars and pipe tobacco helped form a friendship that eventually led to the idea for Toad’s Tobacco.
“We were three guys who went to college together,” Nelson said. “We sort of met smoking tobacco. It became a hobby for the three of us.”
Two of the partners eventually found their way to Water Valley, and Nelson had previous experience working in a cigar shop.
College friends Joshua Baker, Morgan Dignowity and Joey Nelson turned a shared interest in cigars and pipe tobacco into Toad’s Tobacco in Water Valley.
“I wanted to stay in the business,” he said. “I was good at it.”
The partners said their goal was about more than opening a retail tobacco shop. They wanted to create a comfortable place where customers could spend time together.
“We just wanted to create a cool place for people to hang out in Water Valley,” Nelson said. “Water Valley seemed like a great town for that.”
The shop carries a selection of cigars and pipe tobacco, with cigars primarily originating from Nicaragua, the Dominican Republic and Honduras.
Customers can also use the shop as a lounge. Toad’s allows customers to bring their own alcoholic beverages for a corking fee, while the owners have plans to continue developing the lounge area.
Much of the approximately 3,000-square-foot space was renovated by the owners themselves.
Nelson handled much of the construction, including a homemade humidor, bar and pipe rack. One distinctive feature is a piece of white oak from Baker’s property incorporated into the shop.
The owners also credited their landlord, Justin McDaniel, with helping them transform the space and allowing them considerable freedom in renovating it. Many of the carpentry tools used during the work belonged to him.
The Country Squire in Jackson also assisted the new business, particularly with its pipe tobacco selection and related merchandise.
Toad’s Tobacco first opened its doors during Water Valley’s Wind Down event in May. The owners described that as a soft opening and spent much of the summer continuing to furnish and develop the shop while operating the business.
Toad’s Tobacco is open from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. Wednesday, Thursday and Saturday and 11 a.m. to 8 p.m. Friday.
