Frank Compston stands by e-cigarettes. Not only does he think they helped him kick a cigarette and cigar smoking habit, but he said they also helped his son stop using chewing tobacco. After seeing a lack of shops along the Central Coast that sell e-cigarettes, or electronic vaporizer pens, Compston decided to open a shop in his home turf.
Compston and his wife, Kristi Allen, opened their first shop, Blue Sky Vapes, in Santa Maria in August 2013. Since then, he’s slowly gained steam in the vaping business and opened two more shops: one in San Luis Obispo last year and now one in Lompoc on Jan. 30.
Customers already seem to know about the new location, but that’s no surprise to Compston, who said he’s built a following since opening his original shop. The decision to open a shop in Lompoc was a no-brainer for Compston.
“We have a good customer base [in Lompoc] already, and they were already driving over to the Santa Maria shop,” Compston said. “It just made sense.”
People walk through the shop’s glass door, and they are greeted with the fragrant smell of e-cigarette vapor. A wooden bar extends along the length of the shop, and behind it are shelves holding transparent vials of nicotine-infused liquid. Lights with varying colors illuminate each shelf compartment, switching from purple to blue to green to yellow then orange, creating a rainbow effect. A small drill bit sits at the far end of the shop behind the bar.
With the drill, Compston can make small holes in the RBAs, or rebuildable atomizers, allowing more airflow into the pen with each inhale and thus produce more vapor. Because he can do those modifications, Blue Sky is considered a full-service vape shop.
Compston explained how the pen works: A battery-charged coil heats the liquid to the point before it burns and produces vapor instead of smoke. Compston said the liquid does not contain any tobacco and the nicotine is pharmaceutical-grade. Based on his own experience with the pens, Compston said vaping could help people reduce their dependence on tobacco and exposure to cancer-causing chemicals such as formaldehyde.
“I went through the sweats, shakes, and everything else,” Compston said of his struggle to quit smoking.
But vaping may expose users to formaldehyde, perhaps more so than cigarettes, according to an article published in the New England Journal of Medicine last month. At least one California legislator seems to agree. State Sen. Mark Leno (D-San Francisco) introduced a bill in late January that would ban vaping in areas where smoking is already banned.
If the bill passed, Compston doesn’t think it would affect his business much. Inside of his new shop, which also doubles as a hangout spot, he said customers often enjoy a few good vapes at the bar. Customers—or friends, as he calls them—can sample the liquid before they buy it, so they’re not stuck with a product they don’t like. Compston said all of his products are heavily vetted for quality.
Compston has a “buy two, get one free” special all day on Thursdays and from 5 to 8 p.m. on Fridays.
Blue Sky Vapes is located at 1154 North H St., Suite E, in Lompoc in the Flower Valley Shopping Center. The store is open seven days a week, from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. Monday through Thursday, 11 a.m. to 8 p.m. Friday and Saturday, and Sunday from 12 to 5 p.m. For more information, call 922-6655 or follow Blue Sky Vapes on Instagram @blueskyvapes.
Biz Highlights
• The Rona Barrett Foundation recently announced that local donors helped raise half of the $800,000 needed to start building the Golden Inn and Village affordable senior housing facility in the Santa Ynez Valley. But the foundation needs to raise an additional $400,000 by Feb. 28 in order for the housing facility to receive the $23 million in tax credits it needs to start building. The facility is described as a first in the valley and would house up to 120 seniors and 27 families and facility workers. To donate to the project, visit ronabarrettfoundation.org or call 688-8887.
• Santa Maria Mayor Alice Patino and City Manager Rick Haydon will speak at the Business Development Forum hosted by the Santa Maria Valley Chamber of Commerce on Feb. 25 in the Fountain Pavilion Building at the Santa Maria Fairpark. The forum runs from 11:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. Admission is $17 for chamber members and $22 for non-members. To attend, RSVP to register@santamaria.com. The Fairpark is located at 937 S. Thornburg St. Call the chamber at 925-2403 for more information.
Staff Writer David Minsky wrote this week’s Biz Spotlight. Information should be sent to the Sun via fax, email, or mail.
This article appears in Feb 19-26, 2015.
