FRANKLIN—Some people who visit The Canteen take their time to look around the new store at the Airway Shopping Center in Camptown. Others come in, ask for a pack or a carton of cigarettes and then leave.

Hurried vs. leisurely. The difference between those terms highlights a common difference between cigar smokers and cigarette smokers. The former can commit an hour or more to enjoying the leisure and taste of a fine cigar. For the latter group, the five-minute fix often is crammed in on sidewalks during work breaks, in cars between destinations and at home while multi-tasking.

The owners of the new smoke shop and “convenience store” in Isle of Wight have items for smokers from either group, but they have geared their store to cater in particular to those who are willing to take their time and explore.

A flat-screen television, two aquariums and an eclectic mix of merchandise are all designed to make the clientele stop and enjoy their surroundings.

Once they do look around, customers are likely to find something of interest that they didn’t expect to see when they walked into the store.

From custom-designed T-shirts and hats touting the owners’ hometown, “Paper City,” to portable consumer electronics to smoking accessories like high-end ashtrays, lighters and cigarette holders, the store’s wide variety of merchandise is designed to appeal to a wide range of clients.

Owners Adrian Scott and Derryl Britt even stock the old-fashioned candy they enjoyed as youth in Franklin and operate an eBay drop site.

“It’s a small store with a mall decor,” quipped Scott.

In fact, the goldenrod walls, black ceiling and slatted media wall are all designed to contribute to a welcoming, relaxing atmosphere.

The men worked for three months to bring the old storefront back to life, painting the walls and ceiling, cleaning the floor and building the walls that break up the space.

“We don’t want a hangout, but we don’t want people to feel they’ve got to rush in and rush out,” Britt said.

In the few weeks the store has been open, customers have seemed receptive to the store’s design and to the vision of its owners.

Though the cigar selection is limited, it has grown with the help of customers who recommend their favorite brands and sizes. Scott and Britt keep a loose-leaf binder with customer requests, and they expect their cigar selection to continue to grow.

At the rear of the store, a humidor taller than a man holds boxes from some of the hottest cigar manufacturers of the day, including Drew Estate, Cohiba, Rocky Patel and others.

Only the local cigar market, however, limits the size and variety of the inventory. There is room even for a walk-in humidor and a cigar lounge, if there seems to be enough interest from customers.

“There are plenty of cigar smokers here, and there’s nowhere to buy (fine cigars) in town,” Britt said. He and Scott hope the fact that local cigar aficionados were forced to drive to Norfolk, Virginia Beach or Chesapeake to find their favorite brands will mean there is a ready market for their merchandise.

The store’s location outside the Franklin city limits also has some benefits, they said. Chief among those advantages is the fact that Isle of Wight County does not charge the extra tax on tobacco that Franklin does, making the store a potential draw for both cigar and cigarette smokers.