It started more than a year ago, when Mike Lee quit his restaurant job and opened a smoke shop in a strip mall on Mountain View Drive.

The business seemed to grow, even when others around it were shutting their doors.

Lee and his wife hired a few part-time employees, and before long there were bright new lights in their shop window and a big new sign over the front door. Now, he says, they’re ready to expand, and they’re making plans for a second location just a few blocks to the east. Lee has his sights set on a small wood-panel building near the southwest corner of North Lane Street and Mountain View Drive.

A whiteboard near the door makes the announcement:

Coming Soon

Smoke Signals

The Department of Commerce, Community and Economic Development issued a tobacco endorsement for the new location Oct. 29. Lee says he hopes to open the doors this month.

It would be the fourth smoke shop on that mile-long stretch of road; the second drive-thru shop on the block.