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Opening a Hookah Lounge Questions!


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Just a few questions for you guys...
I'm thinking of opening my own lounge and if anyone has their own already, your input would be great.

1. How many customers on avg. would you say visit per day?
2. Where did you get your hookahs, and which type are the best?
3. What's your avg. revenue per month?
4. What's your advice for opening a lounge?

Thanks !!
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Not sure, but here are a few links of similar topics that I found by using the forum "search" feature. Hope some of these help.

[url="http://forum_posts.asp?TID=1707&KW=Hookah+lounge"] [url="http://hookahforum.com/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=1707&KW"]http://hookahforum.com/forum/forum_posts.a...asp?TID=1707&KW[/url][/url] =Hookah+lounge



[url="http://hookahforum.com/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=1721&KW"]http://hookahforum.com/forum/forum_posts.a...asp?TID=1721&KW[/url] =Hookah+lounge




[url="http://hookahforum.com/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=1539&KW"]http://hookahforum.com/forum/forum_posts.a...asp?TID=1539&KW[/url] =Hookah+lounge://http://hookahforum.com/forum/forum_... =Hookah+lounge
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The same saying holds true for hookah bars, as it does for other retail stores...Location, location, location.If you have the location, you will have no problems.Hint: Open near a college/university. New influx of customers every single semester. Plus, you've got the locals that will supplement during the summers.-Chris
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I got a little more time to put into this, so...1) Your average will definitely coincide with your location (at least in the beginning). Our cafe sees about 75 [i]customers[/i] per day. Of course, we serve about 1/4 that number of hookahs, as not everyone pays for a hookah ... they usually sit with friends who already have a hookah. Also, I must say that we have the worst location imaginable (next to two sports complexes) and it has taken a bit (3 years) to really build a consistent customer base. That's why location is going to be your key.2) The selection of hookah is going to depend upon your target market. If you are going after 20-somethings (great target), you should look at ease-of-cleaning over ornate-value. This would include the acrylic hookahs (dishwasher-safe) and the run-of-the-mill Egyptian hookahs. I cannot tell you how many hookahs have been broken since we started. It's got to be near 30, which would be about 1 per month. The beautiful thing about the acrylics is that they are modern and nearly indestructable. Also, we've found that the twenty-somethings like the look better than the traditional hookahs, as it doesn't look so 'Eastern.' I know that it shouldn't be a problem ... but it is.3) Revenue depends upon your pricing and width of product offerings. If you are only going to offer hookahs, you will go out of business- plain and simple. Choose whether you are going to go the cafe or the bar route. The bar route (if you serve beer and wine) will make you great money. However, it's a larger up-front investment (permits and equipment). The cafe route will make good money, as well. Think about how much an espresso machine costs ($8k to $11k USD), as that's going to be your largest investment in the cafe arena.4) Be unique. If you are targetting twenty-somethings, learn from what other popular hangouts are doing. Pay 3 or 4 locals (in your target market) to help you design the place. Spend the money on marketing. You can post cards made for very little money and they can be placed anywhere. Be sure to include a coupon on it.Just remember: location, location, location ... and marketing!You will do great!Thanks,Chris
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Thanks for the input Chris.
My lounge will be in a college town, and I found a location right across the street from the campus.

I'm also considering turning the lounge into a venue on the weekends as well.

How do you think a lounge would fare if I offered beverages such as tea
and soft drinks?? I would like to offer alcoholic drinks, but the up
front cost is much greater as you said and it may take a while to have
the funds to do that.

Also, where is a good place to order hookahs in bulk. I was thinking I would need 25-30. About how many does your cafe have??

Thanks.
Greg
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We have about 25 hookahs and they seem to cycle fairly well. However, there have been times when we have run out of hookahs and we've had to turn customers away (ugh).Let me know what kind of hookahs you are looking for (via PM) and I will give you a quote on what we can do for you.Thanks,Chris
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