How Much Will It Cost Me To Open A Hookah Lounge

[ForeverYoungENT]

Hey guys, I live in Los Angeles and wanted to open a Hookah lounge on Ventura Blvd. The only thing is, there are soo many around here. We have The Spot, Ramzys, Blue Cafe and many more. What can I do to mine that these lounges dont already do. Also, how much do you think it will cost me to open one up. I can get the money, I just need to know how much to get. thanks for all your help!

[r1v3th3ad]

I don't have one, Mushrat will have to fill you in, but here's what I think of what you need and want...

Have at least one tv, but if its financially available, a small one for each customer setup spot...say a $100 one or something each.

Even moreso than the tv, definately make a music setup. I'd say a lil jukebox system at each customer setup, even a radio. With the option of hooking
up an IPOD or putting CDs in...or even one of those programs bars use for music where you can pic a song and if its not there, it will find it and download it. Have volume control so it doesn't get loud enough to disturb other customers around that one. Also speakers around their setup too, even cheap computer ones.

You're gonna need special licenses as a tobacco shop/distributor/smokeshop.

Alcohol is a +, but as mushrat will tell you, its too much trouble. Maybe something more like a BYOB.

Food and beverages is a must.

Lighting and decorations as well. Maybe go with a special room that is all blacklights, I also loved smoking with blacklights.

Fishtank tables is a plus, or even just a few fishtanks.


Lots more I could add to, but this should give you an idea of what some people are found of.
The setup I just stated would probably cost well over 10000, but would make you the top bar IMO...I don't know how much those licenses will cost you, you also have to tack in rent and utilities...

[Voski]

Personally I wouldn't open one on Ventura. I have been to blue cafe and ramzy's. The only way your gonna get their customers is to have lower prices, sell alcohol, have a bigger dance floor, and better music. And the bouncers at Ramzy's are fucking huge.

[erufiku]

Lots more I could add to, but this should give you an idea of what some people are found of.
The setup I just stated would probably cost well over 10000, but would make you the top bar IMO...I don't know how much those licenses will cost you, you also have to tack in rent and utilities...

Wow, here's an uneducated guesstimate in the black hole.

[Voski]

Yup 10,000 is a joke. Your gonna need to pay rent and depending on the property owner you might have to start paying for it when your lease starts as opposed to when you actually open. Permits, tables, chairs, hookahs, tobacco, coals, food, advertising, speakers, DJ if your gonna have one, remodeling, ect....

[r1v3th3ad]

I said that it doesn't include rent, utilities, licenses and such...It includes my ideas for music, tv, decoration, food and such...
I don't know cali prices, its too much for me to figure out. My apt. here is 1550 a semester, but out there it would be well over 6000, my house here is roughly 100000 and there it would probably 600000... get the picture, I'm not gonna try that or your utility costs. I also don't know how much licenses and such are. I was just giving an initial for an idea that could appease to people...its not worth my time to research Cali's overrated overpriced living and give it on that, thats what you guys are there for, who are actually there right now and know these things.
/endbitchin

[ganesha]

I am currently writing my business plan so I can look for some financial backers. (So I've been doing research into this as I am in the planning stages of opening a lounge myself.) The cost for a hookah bar depends on many factors, location, seating, lighting, deocration, ventiliation. If your city requires you to get a ventilation system that could be anywhere from 5k to 50k depending on the size of the building and how much air needs to be circulating. The cost also depends on how much help you can get from your friends with the construction of the place. I have heard of lounges starting with 20k and others starting with 200k. Have a solid design that works for you and fits within your budget. What is more important ar the types of tobacco you use and how you treat your customers. Do everything you can to get them coming back. Ask yourself people can buy a cheap hookah and smoke for cheap, why would they come to my place?? As far as hookahs and shisha go, it is relatively cheap. Hookahs start at $20 and go up from there and shisha is around $7-14 per flavor depending on the brand. I've been making friends with as many lounge owners as I can and asking lots of questions from them. For example, I would trust Mushrat's vendor reviews since he deals with them consistently. I recommend doing research and lots of it. I would also recommend that you find a successful lounge/bar and ask the owner if you can "intern" for a week or something like that - so you can get an idea of what works and what does not. . (But I wouldn't ask an owner in the town/city I plan on opening in...lol) I hope this helps a little. Edited April 3, 2008 by ganesha

[Voski]

I said that it doesn't include rent, utilities, licenses and such...It includes my ideas for music, tv, decoration, food and such...
I don't know cali prices, its too much for me to figure out. My apt. here is 1550 a semester, but out there it would be well over 6000, my house here is roughly 100000 and there it would probably 600000... get the picture, I'm not gonna try that or your utility costs. I also don't know how much licenses and such are. I was just giving an initial for an idea that could appease to people...its not worth my time to research Cali's overrated overpriced living and give it on that, thats what you guys are there for, who are actually there right now and know these things.
/endbitchin

I'm gonna be honest I only read the bold part that the guy above me qouted.

Oh and make sure you have hot chicks working there.

[r1v3th3ad]

like I said, I wasn't thinking of everything entirely as a whole, I don't know enough about the Cali life, other than what I hear from my sis that lived there for 8yrs.
I was just trying to suggest some things that he might want to consider to attract and keep customers.

Those are things I had thought of for when I open a shop in a decade...

[ilikemyusername]

an arm and a leg, god forbid you dont succeed though. you will definitley need a reef aquarium with a carbon filter in line with the air intake for the protein skimmer to keep the nicotine out of the water, and if you really want it to look badass youll need 14,000k mh's with several t5 ho actinics. i'd say a decent reef, (350 gallons or more) with lighting, stocked, ought to cost around $10,000

[Voski]

what

[ganesha]

Oh and make sure you have hot chicks working there.

+1 on that... Here in Salt Lake City we have a great place that the "Huka Girls" (as they are called) rival any... Since I can't remember the rules on this right now if anyone wants a peak at them PM me and I'll send you the link to their site...lots of pics of the staff:) (I don't want to be perceived as spamming for them.)
This place has been packed everytime I've ever went there. (I'm talking 150 people on a Friday or Saturday night.) They are extremely successful and Nate (the owner) is a great guy.

[Scoop]

good luck. the valley is over saturated as is.

if you have to come to a message board for a business plan, you may not be ready for this endeavor.

[The Devils Playground]

I was at the spot Tuesday night and you know what? 200+ people seated. It was nice. Hard to compete with them dude.

On the other hand I am opening a lounge next week on 10K Yea thats it. lol But on the other hand we have a premade customer base for it also.

If you want message me I will give you some private details on what we plan to do to make us stand out even before we implement the ideas in the lounge to make you a bigger success faster.;

Oh and make sure you have hot chicks working there.

+1 on that... Here in Salt Lake City we have a great place that the "Huka Girls" (as they are called) rival any... Since I can't remember the rules on this right now if anyone wants a peak at them PM me and I'll send you the link to their site...lots of pics of the staff:) (I don't want to be perceived as spamming for them.)
This place has been packed everytime I've ever went there. (I'm talking 150 people on a Friday or Saturday night.) They are extremely successful and Nate (the owner) is a great guy.

[supersubby]

alcohol and hookah is a turn off

[ganesha]

good luck. the valley is over saturated as is.

if you have to come to a message board for a business plan, you may not be ready for this endeavor.

I completely agree. Starting a business is a lot of work. (If you are doing it right.) According to my plan I am about 12 to 18 months out. The main reason is because I am researching, planning, designing, etc.
If the area is over saturated, you may want to look at another location. I am looking at a college town that currently does not have a hookah establishment. I have a local company doing surveys of the students and towns people to see if a lounge there is viable. If it isn't then I will look elsewhere.

[r1v3th3ad]

Let's say you have 15 couch setups that can seat 6 each setup for this...

http://www.walmart.com/catalog/product.do?product_id=5691092
15 19" tvs at $120 is $1800 + tax

http://www.walmart.com/catalog/product.do?product_id=8070693
This is cheaper than most of the others I've found for the features...It allows CDs and radio. Another $30 per unit could get you practically the same thing, but allows IPODs to dock and connect to TVs, but that wasn't as nice as this is for the buck + that one you would have to buy CD players separate to connect in...
Price is $35 so that makes it $525 for the whole place.

http://www.coolsofa.com/Sofa-Sets/c9/p208/...oduct_info.html
So I searched for around an hour, its hard to find cheap sofas, you might want to go with chairs and bean bags... This is a set of four package deal that sits 3 each...so each buy will get you two setups...
8 buys, leaving you two left over for a possible extra setup would cost $11200 (1400 for four 3 seaters)

http://www.walmart.com/catalog/product.do?product_id=5922554
Again, hard to find good prices for something that could accomodate the customers to their hookah, food, and beverages...might want to get small tables with it, so they can play card games. I'm assuming entertainment would be mounted on the wall to save money and space.
15 of these at $30 = $450...once again not including tax

Fish tanks are a toughy...I went with Petco, they had the best prices...I custom built a 75 gallon without stand and just a light. This would cost you $295. You also have to factor in filtration and accessories...from my personal experience in fish breeding...
Filtration, gravel/stones/marbles, decor like fake trees or buildings, live plants, and air pumps for a tank that size should run you around $150 to make look really nice, around $110 for just the basics...
Fish vary in price...I'm a fan of fancy tail guppies myself, I breed them. They run around $4 in the stores, if you were near me, I'd give them to ya $2 each...but a tank that size, fancy tail guppies you would want around 40 at the most because they breed like rabbits.
so tank setup all together without fish is $445 for the nice setup.

The rest is up to you, I'm not gonna try to find your supply costs for food and beverages, hookahs/coals/shisha, nor do I know the rates for rent or licenses.

Total for all of my ideas $14420 + tax
I didn't include blacklights, that could be something to do, they vary in price, but you can get them around $20 each. Hope this helps, I've been working on this since my last post. Edited April 4, 2008 by r1v3th3ad

[Scoop]

Let's say you have 15 couch setups that can seat 6 each setup for this...

http://www.walmart.com/catalog/product.do?product_id=5691092
15 19" tvs at $120 is $1800 + tax

http://www.walmart.com/catalog/product.do?product_id=8070693
This is cheaper than most of the others I've found for the features...It allows CDs and radio. Another $30 per unit could get you practically the same thing, but allows IPODs to dock and connect to TVs, but that wasn't as nice as this is for the buck + that one you would have to buy CD players separate to connect in...
Price is $35 so that makes it $525 for the whole place.

http://www.coolsofa.com/Sofa-Sets/c9/p208/...oduct_info.html
So I searched for around an hour, its hard to find cheap sofas, you might want to go with chairs and bean bags... This is a set of four package deal that sits 3 each...so each buy will get you two setups...
8 buys, leaving you two left over for a possible extra setup would cost $11200 (1400 for four 3 seaters)

http://www.walmart.com/catalog/product.do?product_id=5922554
Again, hard to find good prices for something that could accomodate the customers to their hookah, food, and beverages...might want to get small tables with it, so they can play card games. I'm assuming entertainment would be mounted on the wall to save money and space.
15 of these at $30 = $450...once again not including tax

Fish tanks are a toughy...I went with Petco, they had the best prices...I custom built a 75 gallon without stand and just a light. This would cost you $295. You also have to factor in filtration and accessories...from my personal experience in fish breeding...
Filtration, gravel/stones/marbles, decor like fake trees or buildings, live plants, and air pumps for a tank that size should run you around $150 to make look really nice, around $110 for just the basics...
Fish vary in price...I'm a fan of fancy tail guppies myself, I breed them. They run around $4 in the stores, if you were near me, I'd give them to ya $2 each...but a tank that size, fancy tail guppies you would want around 40 at the most because they breed like rabbits.
so tank setup all together without fish is $445 for the nice setup.

The rest is up to you, I'm not gonna try to find your supply costs for food and beverages, hookahs/coals/shisha, nor do I know the rates for rent or licenses.

Total for all of my ideas $14420 + tax
I didn't include blacklights, that could be something to do, they vary in price, but you can get them around $20 each. Hope this helps, I've been working on this since my last post.

the rent over here is not cheap. you will need to rent a place out for upwards of a few months setting everything up (depending on the current location / how many people you have working on renovating the place).

thats instant hard hits =/

also, if you setup a hookah bar the stuff you linked in LA, you will get no business Edited April 4, 2008 by Scoop

[ganesha]

I was at the spot Tuesday night and you know what? 200+ people seated. It was nice. Hard to compete with them dude.

On the other hand I am opening a lounge next week on 10K Yea thats it. lol But on the other hand we have a premade customer base for it also.

If you want message me I will give you some private details on what we plan to do to make us stand out even before we implement the ideas in the lounge to make you a bigger success faster.;

Neil,
Next time you're in Salt Lake City let me know... My wife and I would be happy to take you to the Huka Bar. I love that place and I've been actually trying to get Nate to give me pointers..(I'm planning on my venture to be on the East Coast so I wouldn't be competing against him...lol)

[r1v3th3ad]

Let's say you have 15 couch setups that can seat 6 each setup for this...

http://www.walmart.com/catalog/product.do?product_id=5691092
15 19" tvs at $120 is $1800 + tax

http://www.walmart.com/catalog/product.do?product_id=8070693
This is cheaper than most of the others I've found for the features...It allows CDs and radio. Another $30 per unit could get you practically the same thing, but allows IPODs to dock and connect to TVs, but that wasn't as nice as this is for the buck + that one you would have to buy CD players separate to connect in...
Price is $35 so that makes it $525 for the whole place.

http://www.coolsofa.com/Sofa-Sets/c9/p208/...oduct_info.html
So I searched for around an hour, its hard to find cheap sofas, you might want to go with chairs and bean bags... This is a set of four package deal that sits 3 each...so each buy will get you two setups...
8 buys, leaving you two left over for a possible extra setup would cost $11200 (1400 for four 3 seaters)

http://www.walmart.com/catalog/product.do?product_id=5922554
Again, hard to find good prices for something that could accomodate the customers to their hookah, food, and beverages...might want to get small tables with it, so they can play card games. I'm assuming entertainment would be mounted on the wall to save money and space.
15 of these at $30 = $450...once again not including tax

Fish tanks are a toughy...I went with Petco, they had the best prices...I custom built a 75 gallon without stand and just a light. This would cost you $295. You also have to factor in filtration and accessories...from my personal experience in fish breeding...
Filtration, gravel/stones/marbles, decor like fake trees or buildings, live plants, and air pumps for a tank that size should run you around $150 to make look really nice, around $110 for just the basics...
Fish vary in price...I'm a fan of fancy tail guppies myself, I breed them. They run around $4 in the stores, if you were near me, I'd give them to ya $2 each...but a tank that size, fancy tail guppies you would want around 40 at the most because they breed like rabbits.
so tank setup all together without fish is $445 for the nice setup.

The rest is up to you, I'm not gonna try to find your supply costs for food and beverages, hookahs/coals/shisha, nor do I know the rates for rent or licenses.

Total for all of my ideas $14420 + tax
I didn't include blacklights, that could be something to do, they vary in price, but you can get them around $20 each. Hope this helps, I've been working on this since my last post.

the rent over here is not cheap. you will need to rent a place out for upwards of a few months setting everything up (depending on the current location / how many people you have working on renovating the place).

thats instant hard hits =/

also, if you setup a hookah bar the stuff you linked in LA, you will get no business

why's that?
you got comfortable seating, tv to watch and your own music to listen to, instead of whatever whoever is working wants to hear. Ya got the fish, I just thought was a plus
you'd of course have decor like posters and such on the walls, I was just giving my basic entertainment recommendation, I don't know his style, he might want wall tapestries, posters, or just blank walls.
other things could perk it up too, like karaoke/open mic night.
Also could multiply off of this setup I gave so that ya could accomidate more customers.

Just a thought.
and damn, I never knew shopping around these days could be so hard and expensive. Those few items I put up took me three hours to organize lol

[Voski]

No one really watches TV at lounges. They have big plasmas or a projector playing music videos and thats about it. The music around all the LA bars I have been to is loud club music where the shortys can shake their rumps in there apple bottom jeans . Which is a good thing if you ask me!

[bassman65]

I hate when hookah bars blast club music.

[Voski]

Ya it got old fast but some of those chicks.... dayum.

[seefoodlover]

What kind of lounge are you looking to open up??? A place to party, or a place to chill, and relax, like starbux?

[Atlanta Explosion]

I was at the spot Tuesday night and you know what? 200+ people seated. It was nice. Hard to compete with them dude.

On the other hand I am opening a lounge next week on 10K Yea thats it. lol But on the other hand we have a premade customer base for it also.

If you want message me I will give you some private details on what we plan to do to make us stand out even before we implement the ideas in the lounge to make you a bigger success faster.;

Wait. You're not opening that place Puff Lounge are you? No way you're getting that for $10k. They have more than that in those stupid billboards. There are 2 hookah places opening in Vegas in the same week? Paymon's is going to have some competition I guess.