Hempire State Smoke Shop

Hempire State Smoke Shop is a family-owned smoke shop on Lyell Avenue in the North Gates area of Rochester, NY. Tony Vella founded the business on November 1, 2014, and it quickly grew enough to move into a larger space in Gateway Plaza. After a fire in June 2016 forced the shop to close for ten months, it reopened on April 20, 2017, at its current 2340 Lyell Ave location. In 2022, ownership passed to Eric Miller, Vella's son-in-law, who continues to run both the brick-and-mortar store and a newer online storefront.

The shop carries a wide selection of smoking accessories and wellness products, including:

• Locally blown glass pipes and glassware
• Kratom in multiple strains and formats
• 7-Hydroxymitragynine (7-OH) tablets
• CBD flower and CBD products
• Kava and functional mushroom products
• Dry herb vaporizers and e-rigs
• Rolling papers, cones, wraps, and tips (including a full RAW product line)
• Lighters, torches, and parts
• Retro video games and branded clothing

A rewards program lets customers earn points toward discounts and free items. The store accepts credit cards, Apple Pay, and Android Pay, and the space is wheelchair accessible.

Hempire State Smoke Shop has built its identity around stocking locally blown glass alongside a deep inventory of kratom and 7-OH products — categories that account for the largest share of its online catalog. The store also stands out on the Lyell Avenue corridor for its unusual mix of smoke-shop staples with retro video games and apparel. Community-facing events, including an annual spelling bee and a Halloween costume contest, reflect the shop's neighborhood roots and its effort to be more than a typical retail stop.

The shop sits at 2340 Lyell Ave in North Gates, a commercially oriented stretch of Lyell Avenue just west of the Rochester city line in Monroe County. The Lyell-Howard Commons plaza and the Gates Wegmans are nearby landmarks along the same corridor. Parking is readily available in the plaza-style lots that line this section of Lyell. The store is open Monday through Saturday from 10:00 a.m. to 9:00 p.m. and Sunday from 10:00 a.m. to 3:30 p.m.