Unlike the smoke shops most people are familiar with, the newest business to join the streetscape of downtown Dowagiac will offer customers a unique alternative to cigarettes and cigars.

Opening soon in the storefront adjacent to the Farm Bureau Insurance office on Front Street, Electric Mist Vape Shop will be selling vaporization, or vape, pens and components, that offer a smoke-free solution for consuming nicotine.

The new store is expected to open sometime within the month, and will be owned and operated by Dowagiac’s Peter Krebs and his son, Eric, said Irene Krebs, Peter’s wife.

Unlike traditional, smoke-based methods that involved burning tobacco, electricity-powered vape pens operate by heating a small tank of liquid nicotine, which is turned into a mist that the user inhales. The devices, which are of a similar size and shape of a regular fountain pen, emit a vapor that evaporates within seconds, meaning there’s no risk of second hand smoke.

“It doesn’t contain all the chemicals that cigarettes do,” Krebs said. “It’s just nicotine with flavorings.”

Customers will be able to purchase tanks with a range of nicotine concentrations, from 8 to 36 percent, Krebs said. Another unique feature of vaporization tanks are the variety of different mist flavorings users can choose from, which can imitate candy bars, fruits, beverages or traditional cigarettes.

“It’s neat, because whenever my husband uses his [pen], the whole house smells like watermelon,” Krebs said.

Krebs introduced her husband to vape pens in an effort to get him to stop smoking, due in part to the effects that the second-hand smoke was having on her own health, she said. While he was a fan of the product, the couple had to make regular visits to the closet shop that sold the pens and components, located in Niles.

“Around two months ago, I saw that one of the employees was counting up all the money the shop had made that morning,” Krebs said. “When I saw all those piles of money, I thought, ‘why should we keep spending our money here, when we could go and make own money doing this?’”

With many of the Niles store’s customers hailing from Dowagiac, the couple decided that there would be a built-in market if they opened a store closer to home.

Renting space downtown also gives them an ideal location to attract customers from out of the area who visit the area during parades and festivals, Krebs said.

Prices for pens will start at $20 for a starter kit, with liquid tanks ranging from $10 to $35, depending on the size, Krebs said.

“We’re out there to help the community,” she said. “We’re going to be fair about our prices, and provide the best customer satisfaction we can.”

Store hours will be 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday through Thursday, 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. on Friday and 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday.