Heart and soul and modesty

Specialist retailer Julia Gröning has decided to completely renovate her store / DTZ visits the “old” store again beforehand

BERLIN // They still exist – and that’s just great! The good, established tobacco specialty stores that are run with passion and customer orientation are still alive and well. These specialist retailers carry family tradition in their blood, almost with the tobacconist gene in their DNA. A prime example of this is Julia Gröning, née Durek, from Berlin. She is now investing in a completely new store design.

Together with her family and a dedicated team, Julia Gröning runs four specialist tobacco stores in the capital. One of them is located at Kantstraße 56 in the charming Charlottenburg district. When you enter the store, you immediately feel transported to a cozy, quaint world with the smell of tobacco, perhaps reminiscent of your own childhood. Although it is getting on in years, which you can tell from the furniture, this is exactly what makes it so charming – and that is why it is currently being lovingly renovated.

But back to the beginning: Julia Gröning grew up in a real family of specialist retailers. Her parents ran various tobacco stores in Berlin. She spent a lot of time there as a child – an experience that shaped her. But it was clear from the start that she didn’t just want to follow in her parents’ footsteps. “There have been many coincidences in my life,” says the likeable Berliner.

She originally wanted to become a psychotherapist, but couldn’t find a suitable apprenticeship. Instead, she did another apprenticeship. But even during her training, it was clear to her that this profession was not for her. After completing her apprenticeship, she therefore helped out temporarily in the family store at the main station.

Then came the next coincidence: her mother suggested she dedicate herself to a new business on Alexanderplatz, because there was actually one too many of them. Suddenly Gröning was on her own – thrown in at the deep end, but fortunately with a strong team at her side. “They didn’t need me at all,” she says modestly.

But this is how her success story began: She ran her first own store at the main station for nine years. The focus here was on fast-moving goods such as cigarettes and tobacco products. But Julia Gröning wanted more: “I didn’t want a cigarette store, I wanted a real specialist store.” Thanks to her father’s good contacts with colleagues in Berlin via the Kegel Group, she was able to take over the Rhode specialist store when its owner retired – Gröning was just 30 years young at the time.

Initially, she ran it with two employees, but the changes were not long in coming. Today, she employs a total of 21 staff in the four Durek stores. The specialty store at the train station is managed by a store manager, while she herself works with a team in Kanstrasse.

With the death of her father and the withdrawal of her mother from the day-to-day business, the Durek / Gröning family has grown even closer together. Julia runs the business together with her younger brother Christian, who is also active in the company. His wife Loreen Durek is primarily responsible for personnel issues, while Gröning’s husband Julian is in charge of the online business. The team consists of long-standing employees who are passionate about the specialist store.

The heart of the specialist store “Kiwus … only for smokers” (the founder’s name, soon to be renamed “Tabakhaus Durek”) is cigars, followed by pipes and pipe tobacco. The third pillar is made up of fast-moving products such as Lotto and e-cigarettes. Pipes in particular are a real hit: “There are fewer and fewer specialist stores for them, which is why pipe lovers come from far and wide.”

Julia Gröning is proud of her selection and her loyal regular customers. Of course, she doesn’t ignore trends either: E-cigarettes are well represented in her store, and cannabis accessories are just as popular – “It smells green in many places in Berlin,” she says with a grin. However, she believes that politicians are taking a step backwards here rather than promoting the trend.

Julia Gröning engaged the shopfitting company Knoeppel from Hagen, which has been designing tobacco stores since 1956, as her partner for the conversion. Together with its Managing Director Andreas Neumann, the Berlin native worked on a solution that is both beautiful and practical. “It took us a while to reconcile our ideas, but the result is exactly what I wanted: functional, stylish and affordable. The humidor is significantly enlarged and every drawer and cupboard is well thought out and has its exact purpose.”

Even their much-desired railing, as in old libraries, is now part of the plan. The 3.5-metre-high rooms are to be used optimally in the future, and the 45 square meters will be designed with wood and modern-inspired furnishings – including a white and red counter front that is based on the other Durek stores.

The Kiwus specialist store will then also be renamed Tabakhaus Durek. The conversion is due to begin in September and be completed by the end of October. “The interior was very outdated. What’s more, my specialist store will now finally have my own stamp on it,” says Gröning. Julia Gröning has not yet decided whether the barrel of pipe tobacco will continue to scent the rooms.