Gator Tobacco & Cigars
One straight road west, two right turns, and a walk-in humidor at the end of it.
Sun City Center Boulevard Runs Straight to Our Door
The road you already use every day is the whole route. Sun City Center Boulevard is State Road 674, and it runs due west out of the community. Stay on it: it passes under Interstate 75 at Exit 240, picks up the name College Avenue on the far side, and carries on for a total of about 4.6 miles without asking you to turn once — ending at the traffic light on U.S. Highway 41 in the middle of Ruskin. We are two right turns past that light, at 99 7th Ave NE: roughly six miles and a quarter of an hour from most of Sun City Center, with free parking directly outside the door.
Two Ways In From Sun City Center
Both start identically — the straight run west on Sun City Center Blvd. They differ only in the last mile: one finishes on U.S. 41, the other slips through the neighborhood grid and never touches the highway.
Straight West, Then Two Rights
Two turns in the entire trip, both onto main roads with clear signage. This is the one to use if you don't know Ruskin.
- Head west on Sun City Center Blvd (State Road 674) and stay on it. Once you pass under Interstate 75 at Exit 240, the signs start reading College Avenue. It is the same road — do not turn.
- Continue about 4.6 miles to the traffic light where College Avenue meets U.S. Highway 41 (the Tamiami Trail). Turn right, heading north.
- Stay on U.S. 41 for about three-quarters of a mile. You will cross one traffic light on the way, at Shell Point Road, and then pass the Ruskin Post Office on your right.
- Turn right onto 7th Avenue NE — the next street past the post office. There is no traffic light at this corner, so watch for the street sign rather than a signal.
- We are about 350 feet in, on the right. 99 7th Ave NE, Ruskin, FL 33570. Free parking directly outside the storefront.
The Neighborhood Way In
Same straight run west, then a quiet residential street instead of the highway. Marginally shorter, and you never merge into U.S. 41 traffic.
- Head west on Sun City Center Blvd / College Avenue, exactly as above.
- Turn right at the last traffic light before U.S. 41. That light is roughly 650 feet — about a tenth of a mile — short of the highway, and the street sign reads 2nd Street SE. If you reach the U.S. 41 light, you have gone two short blocks too far.
- Go straight and stay on that street for about three-quarters of a mile. Partway along, the name changes to 2nd Street NE and you cross Shell Point Road. Neither is a turn — keep going straight.
- The street dead-ends in a T at 7th Avenue NE. Turn left.
- We are about 240 feet along, on the left. 99 7th Ave NE, Ruskin, FL 33570.
How Far It Actually Is
Measured along the route above. Times assume normal daytime traffic and the two traffic lights you pass through in Ruskin.
From Kings Point
5.7 miles
About 11–14 minutes. Kings Boulevard out to Sun City Center Blvd, then the straight run west.
From central Sun City Center
5.9 miles
About 11–14 minutes from the Community Association campus and the North Pebble Beach streets.
From south Sun City Center
6.6 miles
About 13–16 minutes from the Freedom Plaza and Aston Gardens side of the community.
From I-75 Exit 240
3.9 miles
About 7–9 minutes. If you are already on the interstate, Exit 240 drops you onto the same road west.
Park at the Door
No garage, no meter, no circling the block. Our storefront sits on 7th Ave NE, one street off U.S. 41, with free parking directly outside — and a climate-controlled walk-in humidor a few steps past it. Guests must be 21+ with photo ID.
Open Turn-by-Turn Directions ↗What's Waiting
A six-mile drive should end in something worth the trip. The humidor is held at 70% relative humidity and 70°F, and we sell singles — no box-only minimums.
AJ FERNANDEZ 20TH ANNIVERSARY
A 100% Nicaraguan Puro drawn from the family's oldest reserves, encased in a natural cedar sleeve.
6 × 56 TORO
PADRÓN 60TH ANNIVERSARY
Award-winning Nicaraguan Puro, rolled as an elegant double perfecto by a single veteran torcedor.
6 ½" × 56 PERFECTO
MY FATHER & TATUAJE "LA UNIÓN"
Ultra-rare collaboration blended with rare Pelo d'Oro seeds and finished with a traditional 109-style tapered head.
7 ¼" × 50 PROMINENTE ESPECIAL
PLASENCIA EL AÑO DE LA CULEBRA EDICIÓN LIMITADA 2025
Limited-edition release hand-woven from confidential aged estate leaves in a twisted Culebra format.
7 × 40 LANCERO / CULEBRA
SANTIAGO VALLADARES HABANO
Rich Ecuadorian Habano wrapper, individually nested inside a protective premium wooden coffin.
6 × 52 TORO
AJ FERNANDEZ 20TH ANNIVERSARY
A 100% Nicaraguan Puro drawn from the family's oldest reserves, encased in a natural cedar sleeve.
6 × 56 TORO
PADRÓN 60TH ANNIVERSARY
Award-winning Nicaraguan Puro, rolled as an elegant double perfecto by a single veteran torcedor.
6 ½" × 56 PERFECTO
MY FATHER & TATUAJE "LA UNIÓN"
Ultra-rare collaboration blended with rare Pelo d'Oro seeds and finished with a traditional 109-style tapered head.
7 ¼" × 50 PROMINENTE ESPECIAL
PLASENCIA EL AÑO DE LA CULEBRA EDICIÓN LIMITADA 2025
Limited-edition release hand-woven from confidential aged estate leaves in a twisted Culebra format.
7 × 40 LANCERO / CULEBRA
SANTIAGO VALLADARES HABANO
Rich Ecuadorian Habano wrapper, individually nested inside a protective premium wooden coffin.
6 × 52 TORO
The Brands Worth the Drive
219 hand-rolled vitolas across 47 brands, one walk-in humidor, six miles from Sun City Center. Prices are not published online — the shop is in-store purchase only.
- Arturo Fuente
- Padrón
- Plasencia
- Liga Privada
- My Father
- AJ Fernandez
- Oliva
- Rocky Patel
- Drew Estate
- Cohiba
- Montecristo
- Perdomo
- Romeo y Julieta
- La Gloria Cubana
- Santiago Valladares
Also stocked in-store: ACID by Drew Estate, Alec Bradley, Alchemy, Altar Q, Ashton, AVO, Big Papi, CAO, Cavalier, Cuban Aristocrat, Deadwood, E.P. Carrillo, Foundation Cigar Co., H. Upmann, La Aroma de Cuba, La Estrella Cubana, Macanudo, New World, Nica Rustica, Olmec, Oscar Valladares, Saint Luis Rey, Tatiana, The Tabernacle and The Wise Man. Search the full in-store directory before you set off, or call (813) 938-3366 to check a specific vitola.
Questions From the Sun City Center Side
How far is Gator Tobacco & Cigars from Sun City Center?
About six miles, and roughly 11 to 14 minutes in normal traffic. Sun City Center Boulevard (State Road 674) runs straight west out of the community, passes under Interstate 75 at Exit 240, is signed College Avenue from there on, and ends at U.S. Highway 41 in Ruskin about 4.6 miles later. From that light it is one right onto U.S. 41 and one right onto 7th Avenue NE. We are at 99 7th Ave NE, Ruskin, FL 33570.
What is the simplest route from Kings Point?
Take Kings Boulevard out to Sun City Center Boulevard and turn west. Stay on that one road — it becomes College Avenue past Interstate 75 — until it ends at the traffic light on U.S. Highway 41, about 4.6 miles on. Turn right onto U.S. 41 and continue about three-quarters of a mile, past the Shell Point Road light and the Ruskin Post Office. Turn right onto 7th Avenue NE; we are roughly 350 feet in, on the right. The whole trip is about 5.7 miles.
Is there a route that avoids driving on U.S. 41?
Yes. Coming west on College Avenue, turn right at the last traffic light before U.S. Highway 41. The street sign there reads 2nd Street SE, and the light sits about 650 feet short of the highway. Keep going straight — the same street becomes 2nd Street NE, crosses Shell Point Road, and dead-ends in a T at 7th Avenue NE about three-quarters of a mile later. Turn left at that T and we are about 240 feet along, on the left.
Can I take a golf cart from Sun City Center?
No — this trip needs a car. Golf carts are street-legal on Sun City Center’s own streets during daylight hours, but the route to Ruskin runs on State Road 674 and U.S. Highway 41, which are not golf-cart roads. Once you arrive there is free parking directly outside the storefront on 7th Avenue NE.
Is there parking, and do I need to be a member?
There is free parking right outside the door — no garage, no meter, no permit. No membership is required to shop or to walk through the humidor. The members-only cigar lounge is still under construction and is not open yet. You must be 21 or older with photo ID to purchase.
What cigar brands do you carry?
The walk-in humidor holds 219 hand-rolled vitolas across 47 brands, among them Arturo Fuente, Padrón, Plasencia, Liga Privada, My Father, AJ Fernandez, Oliva, Rocky Patel, Drew Estate, Cohiba, Montecristo, Perdomo, Romeo y Julieta, La Gloria Cubana and Santiago Valladares. We sell singles, not box-only. Prices are not published online — the shop is in-store purchase only. For live stock on a specific vitola, call (813) 938-3366.
A Note on the Town at the Other End
Sun City Center opened in 1961, when Del Webb built Florida's first self-contained community for active retirees out of open pasture. The town at the western end of State Road 674 got there first, and for stranger reasons: Ruskin was founded on 7 August 1908 on the north bank of the Little Manatee River by George McAnelly Miller and Addie Dickman Miller, as a utopian colony named for the English critic John Ruskin. Its centerpiece, Ruskin College, opened in 1910 and burned down in 1918; the tomato fields outlasted it, and the town has run a Tomato Festival since 1935. Our storefront sits a block off the Tamiami Trail in the middle of all that — downstream of the state park that protects the upper river, and about six miles from your driveway.
Beyond Sun City Center, we also welcome collectors from the South Shore (Apollo Beach, Wimauma, Sun City), the I-75 Corridor (Riverview, Parrish, Ellenton) and Tampa Bay (Tampa, St. Petersburg) — one walk-in humidor serving the whole region.
Know what you're driving out for. Browse the full in-store directory before you turn the key.
SEARCH THE HUMIDOR