Business: Papa Jay’s Smoke Shop
Address: 1224 W. Ogden Ave., Naperville
Phone/website: 630-637-3300, www.ThePapaJays.com
Owner: Jatin Gadhiya, 34, of Naperville
Years in business: 13
What does your business do? “We sell anything they need for smoking. Tobacco. Cigarettes. Vapes. Papers. Cigars. We have a 30-foot humidor. We have merchandise they can wear. We do sell CBD. I categorize those as hemp products,” Gadhiya said.
What are CBD items used for? “A lot of pain management.”
What do you sell most of? “Cigarettes are my smallest sales. Obviously, vape products are big. … We also sell T-shirts, backpacks, trays, lighters. Obviously, we sell quite a bit of bag tobacco. Think about this, to buy a carton of cigarettes you will pay north of $100. That’s 10 packs of cigarettes, 200 cigarettes. … I can sell you tobacco and 200 tubes for around $15. One pound of tobacco, rolling your own, can get you two to two and a half cartons of cigarettes.”
Do you have other locations? “Two other stores are in Aurora. We had three in Aurora. We did shut one down two months ago.”
What’s your business philosophy? “If I’m going to be a good businessman, I should live here. The only way to understand the locals is to be a local.
“We are the gatekeepers to all the products we sell here. To buy, you’ve got to be 21. It is the law. In this business, you need ethics. How would it look for a 12- or 13-year-old to be walking around with a vape? … (At) our cash register, you cannot buy without showing your ID.”
What’s the background? “Who is Papa Jay? My father. He started the business. … He’s retired, enjoying himself in India now.”
When are you busy? “Weekends do tend to get busier. Fridays and Saturdays. But you have to remember this is not a necessity business. This is a want. A lot of times, when money starts to get tight, I’ve seen people cut back a bit.”
Who are your customers? “I have people in college, people who are 85.”
What do you like best about your job? “The people. They are phenomenal. They’ve stuck with me so many years. Loyalty.”
Any negatives? No. I have help. My employees do a wonderful job. Phenomenal. They keep my life balanced. I’m able to be with my three kids thanks to them.”
How did the pandemic impact your business? “Pretty bad. We had to scale back our products because a lot of break-ins were happening. … We cut costs. We unfortunately had to cut employees … It did hurt our business. We have not recovered. Not close. This year has been the worst.”
Why is that? “There are a lot of factors. People are hurting. They don’t have money. It costs so much even to buy bread.”
What misconceptions do people have? “That we’re millionaires. … It’s a tough business. We sunk a lot of money into this place.”
What sort of challenges do you face? “Heavy. There’s one (smoke shop) 400 feet away. From Naper Boulevard to Eola (Road), from (Route) 88 to probably 75th (Street), there’s probably at least 25 to 30 shops, which include gas stations that also sell vaping items. … Before COVID, we were one of four or five shops in north Naperville.”
Any memorable stories? “(Earlier this month) one shop in Aurora was broken into. We got the license plate but — get this — the car was stolen the night before. They picked up $20,000 of products from that store. Theft is on the rise, unfortunately.”
How do you increase business? “I can’t give you a pinpoint answer because I’m not the only one in this spot. I have cousins in Michigan, Kentucky and Tennessee in this business. This morning, we were talking about the same thing. We don’t know.”
How many employees do you have? “Three to four.”
What’s your advice for someone starting a business? “I highly encourage it. The No. 1 thing you have to have is patience. There are a lot of sacrifices you have to make so you better be willing to do it. Your friends may be going to parties, vacations, this or that. You’re not going to do that. I did not take a vacation for two years. … You’ve got to have capital. … Start small. … With brick-and-mortar, there are rolling costs every hour of the day. Light bills. Heat. Insurance. You have to pay fair wages and pay yourself too.”
Steve Metsch is a freelance reporter for the Naperville Sun. If you know of a business you’d like to see profiled in Down to Business, contact him at metschmsfl@yahoo.com.
