A Rare Canadian Milestone: Walper Tobacco Shop Turns 135

Canada’s longest-running tobacconist is preparing to reach a milestone that few retailers can claim.

Walper Tobacco Shop will celebrate its 135th anniversary this June, a remarkable run that stretches back to the year 1891.

To paint a picture of exactly how long ago that is, it was the same year that Canadian-born Dr. James Naismith introduced the first game of basketball in Springfield, Massachusetts. It was also the year that Britain completed its first telephone link spanning the entire length of the country.

Founded inside Kitchener, Ontario’s historic Walper Hotel, the shop has endured world wars, depressions, cigar booms, a pandemic, and an onslaught of increasingly-stringent tobacco regulations. Despite this, it has remained a steadfast destination for cigar lovers and pipe smokers alike.

Though the business was forced to relocate from its original hotel location in 2022, it proudly claims to have never closed its doors in 134 years and counting.

Since 1970, Walper stewardship has remained in the hands of the Koebel family, whose tenure has helped preserve the shop’s old-world character while navigating it into the modern era of premium cigars.

On Monday, June 1, 2026, the celebration of big “one-thirty-five” begins, as owner Peter Koebel and Walper Tobacco Shop host a special ticketed event beneath a large outdoor tent set behind the shop location. Guests can expect plentiful an evening of food, drinks and, naturally, a curated selection of fine premium cigars.

Tickets are available in person at the shop, located at 603 King Street in Kitchener, Ontario.