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OUR MISSION
​To please customers through low prices, best selection and instant service in a clean, well-merchandised store.
OUR INSPIRATION
A MESSAGE TO THE MOTORING PUBLIC
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I have stopped in many service stations in my travels around this country, and they have impressed me as being cold and inconsiderate. They lack the atmosphere that creates the pleasant feeling which makes a motorist glad he stopped.
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Recognizing this, I shall never cease in my efforts to inject into this business something a little more personal than a cold artificial stopping place.
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I want our customers to long remember this station for its courteous and efficient service, its friendly charm and willing to serve personnel. I am fully aware that the responsibilities for such rest on the shoulders of the management.
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SINCERELY​,
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JB Hawks was founded on a long tradition of excellence. In 1930, Claude Ware, grandfather of JB Hawks founder Tom Ware, founded Wareco Gas Stations. Growing up in the Wareco family business instilled a number of values within Tom. He learned the importance of being respectful, being readily available, and doing whatever it takes to make a customer happy. In 2008, he brought those values to his own dream when he opened his first tobacco store in Jacksonville, Illinois. Growing up, he was also shown how vital it is to be passionate when running a company. Tom is extremely passionate about maintaining cleanliness in all of our stores and bringing quality customer service to each and every one of the people who walk through the doors.
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In order to accomplish this, each of our customer service representatives are thoroughly trained on our products and the trends within the tobacco industry. This is so customers can have the best knowledge on the products they are buying. If you have any questions, our staff is ready and willing to help you. Each CSR comes to the JB Hawks Headquarters and Training Facility in Jacksonville, IL to learn how to better help and serve customers with the utmost respect. We set ourselves apart from other tobacco stores through our culture of excellent service, as well as our wide selection of products at extremely low prices.
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We invite you to visit your local JB Hawks to experience this difference for yourself.
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OUR HISTORY
A NAME WITH A HISTORY
JB Hawks is more than just a discount tobacco store. We embrace the rich history of tobacco in America and the commitment to tobacco excellence. In fact the "JB" in our name are the initials of two key founders in the tobacco industry James Bonsack and James Buchanan Duke and a tip of the hat to them!
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Tobacco was the first crop grown for money in North American in 1612 by Jamestown colonist John Rolfe. The original intent of Rolfe and the accompanying settlers was to find economic opportunity for the Virginia Company, a private investment group in search of gold and iron ore. After unsuccessful attempts to find gold, Rolfe used tobacco seeds imported from the West Indies as a source for economic trade, thereby accelerating the economic growth in North America.
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Washington Duke commercialized cigarettes in 1865, and James Bonsack facilitated mass production with his invention of the cigarette-rolling machine in 1881.
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James Buchanan Duke was the industrialist who modernized cigarette production. He created the first tobacco company in the country in 1890, called the American Tobacco Company.
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The tradition continues with JB Hawks. We are committed to providing unparalleled customer service and a variety of tobacco products at low, low prices.