Pipes Plus

I finally visited the new store that finally opened. The renovations look great, especially the floors. Definitely way better than previous location. Love the brick and that it’s right next door to Kismet. The interior and merchandise are very clean and well-​displayed, and there is a wide variety. The only thing I noticed is that a bunch of the store’s classic centerpieces didn’t seem to survive the move. Maybe they ended up in Scuba’s collection when he shut down his end of the chain, or maybe they just got bought by customers.
So I hope they buy some new big pieces to make people come in and marvel at, and then every now and then some big baller will actually buy one. They need more stuff like that. As far as their every day stock goes, for items like spoons, chillums, and multi-​chamber glass water pipes, they got all that covered, at high quality and low prices.
The vape shop up top is a great way to stay relevant. I think Kasbah and Arab Cowboy got the lockdown of what remains of the hooka business, anyway. The lounge seems like a a cool place to hang, with chairs and even a guitar. Decent flavor selection.
All in all, I was happy to see the place re-​open, even though I do have a bit of bad history with the management/​ownership. But I’m honestly happy just to see them keep an institution alive long enough to evolve to another level. I wish the best of luck to this place, I really do. It could come back in a big way. Help make Austin cool again!

Great selection of artsy high-​end pieces of glass as well as affordable pipes and smoking products. Manager is always helpful, extremely knowledgable staff — the atmosphere is far more warm and classy here and the staff is friendlier than some other pipe and smoke shops around Austin.

As an Austinite for my entire life, I am a little heartbroken to have to give a one star to a local business that I’ve seen amazing musicians play their first shows there, and good people I know have worked there in the past.
My girlfriend and I bought a hookah from there one night. They told us that it was handmade in India. Payed $ 80 for it. We were aware that there were no returns. When we got home, we inspected the parts before using it and we noticed that the inside of the metal parts were rusted! There was some dust caked on some of it. We then discovered a sticker on the very bottom of the base of the hookah and it said «Voodoo Hookah». We did research on it. Turns out it retails for $ 35 max on multiple retailer sites.
The next day, already aware that they don’t accept returns (like almost all smoke shops do) we went back with it to at least negotiate the actual value of it with someone who works there. The guy was extremely rude, pretty much shouting at us like Jesse from Breaking Bad (he looked just like him too, I swear). He said «look, we don’t accept returns it says it everywhere in the store». All we wanted to do was negotiate with them because we payed way way too much for a cheap hookah. He told us to take it up with the manufacturer. (really?)We left the store very angry.
What kind of business practice is that? Lying to your customers and charging a ton more than it’s actually retailing everywhere else? Sure we could’ve done research at the store before buying it but we trusted the person who sold it to us.
TL;DR Just do us all a favor and boycott this place. They are dishonest, rude, and everything in there is overpriced. BC, Whomp, Oat Willie’s are getting my business from now on. I trusted you Pipes Plus, you’ve really let a lifetime Austinite down. Shame on you.

This place is the equivalent of walking into a teenager’s dark basement who happens to be throwing a small get together while his friend’s band drills out some obnoxious/​humor-​driven tracks on the way-​too-​tiny stage up by the window. Smoke clouds up the room along with that questionable stench and people of various ages chill on comfy couches and share some laughs. It’s a bit awkward walking into the place since you’re right next to the stage and everyone has no choice but to stare at you as you enter.
But trust, I am not a hater. I actually really like this place. The guys behind the counter are always cool and helpful, some of them even cracking a few jokes. Never rude. I have yet to find shisha, coals, or any other form of tobacco to be cheaper than this place (as opposed to most of the other hookah places). Upstairs, you can find glass pipes made locally and they’re pretty legit from what I’ve seen. I don’t come here often, but when I do I always walk out with whatever I need for a hell of a deal.

BC is sooooooooo much better! Better prices, better choices and selections, aswell as more smart employees. But this place is the shit to go smoke a few bowls of hookah before you go to a party or something!

This place blows. I went here looking for pipe tobacco and all I found was a bunch of pretentious hippies smoking hookahs — can you say … white people co-​opting someone else’s culture? Plus upstairs they pride themselves on throwing their glass pipes against the wall to prove how heavy-​duty they are. Classy! Plus the three or four kinds of pipe tobacco they carry are always, always stale, and you have to deal with either «world music» or jam bands when you’re inside.

One night after a long day of work this was the place me and a bunch of us from work went to to try shisha. This was my first time going to a place like this and smoking out of a hookah. It wasn’t like inhaling a cigarette at all it was much smoother and they have so many flavors to try. It’s a cool place to chill and meet people and strike up a convo and share a bowl or two. I sure felt it the next day though. It felt like I smoked a carton lol.

Great selection, good atmoshphere, excellent service!

Pipes plus is a nice, laid back place to come and relax. They have board games, comfy couches, and a very laid back but helpful group of people working there. Downstairs they have a nice selection of tobacco products and shisha flavors to pick from as well as the aforementioned chairs and couches, which are perfect for sitting and cogitating upon the great mysteries of the cosmos. Upstairs they have an excellent selection of glassware that ranges from the spartan to the breathtakingly beautiful, and a price range that will accommodate most budgets. The people that work there are pretty good about keeping your hookah coals warm, and they’re very knowledgeable about their glassware, so it’s a good place to go both for an evening beside a hookah as well as for a shopping trip.
All in all, my favorite headshop/​hookah lounge in Austin.

I like going to Pipes Plus often because my roomate works there. So I always smoke the most delicious flavors, and they have such a wide selection of choices so I try something new every time!
The pipes and bongs they sell upstairs are some of the most unique and beautiful pieces I’ve seen sold in a head shop. And the hookahs for sale are certainly nice too! They also have a brand of coal for my hookah that I like alot.

the good, the bad, and the ugly… hobos, live bands, waitresses too high to remember your order…
you never know what kind of experience you will have, but i always enjoy it

I really enjoy this hookah bar over all the others in Austin, and I have been to almost all of them. It is a really enjoyable environment and they dont charge you and arm and a leg for a bowl of mixed flavors. This place is great and I love you. I recommend it to everyone.

As a hookah bar, this place is pretty cool, I especially enjoyed mixing flavors. Favorites include melon and mixing various fruit flavors with mint. A couple of times I’ve been in where highschool kids come in and definitely change the mood not for the better. If you’re under 18, it’s not unlikely your id will be checked. Some of these kids are immature and at least in one occasion, got pissy with the employee, stormed off, and me and my friends got their abandoned bowl for free, which was awesome for sure. The employees I’ve been around are pretty cool. The hookah bar is great and all, but I think what makes pipes plus stand out is the upstairs where they sell many of your smoking needs. Their selection of glass pipes keeps me coming back time and again, much more frequently than for a hookah. Their prices for pipes are very reasonable and they will even chuck a good number of the pipes across the room at the floor to demonstrate their durability. I heard from a former employee that the owner would have to sell it by the beginning of 2007, but it’s still open so I keep going back for more.