Loving How Ever1 Is Into Hookahs As Much As I...need Advice!

[Tom1]

[Apets22]

That sounds like a pretty tight bar, but you seem to be dropping alottttttt of cash into it. I wish you the best.

As far as other brans of shisha, Fantasia is awesome, but it aint cheap. But, I think you might need to get away from your personal vendetta towards starbuzz, the kind of flavors they offer make noobs drool, haha.

And I like the natural coal idea. Thats something Ive never seen at a bar. But are you sure its practical? if some one needs another coal and you then need 5-10 minutes to light it. That would personally irritate me at a lounge.

EDIT: Oh yeah, and I have an obelisk, its bad ass. But they arent cheap. Are you going to stock your entire bar with those? Edited September 14, 2008 by Apets22

[Guest DJ_HOSSEIX]

That sounds like a pretty tight bar, but you seem to be dropping alottttttt of cash into it. I wish you the best.

As far as other brans of shisha, Fantasia is awesome, but it aint cheap. But, I think you might need to get away from your personal vendetta towards starbuzz, the kind of flavors they offer make noobs drool, haha.

And I like the natural coal idea. Thats something Ive never seen at a bar. But are you sure its practical? if some one needs another coal and you then need 5-10 minutes to light it. That would personally irritate me at a lounge.

EDIT: Oh yeah, and I have an obelisk, its bad ass. But they arent cheap. Are you going to stock your entire bar with those?

haha thnx bro. The thing with hookah bars here in california or as far as the ones i've been too (hidden cafe, the village, garden of eden, padini by club tentation, etc) is that not many of the "noobish noobs" go there if you get my drift. Most of the people have a bit of hookah expertise and aren't the type that think they are getting high off of hookah. I also have a huge network of people i know which is another reason of opening this lounge.

The natural coal idea here is used a lot, behind the lounge you have a pit with chars always burning and then you have 1 member go around with his charcoal basket bringing fresh chars all the time (no extra charge).

The obelisk are really bad ass and i love the design it has. They are expensive but i want to seperate myself from the rest of the hookah cafes that have the same old traditional style hookahs. Hopefully Mya gives us a good wholesale price lol.

Also does anyone have any ideas of where you can get nice plates and cups for this type of business?

[Guest DJ_HOSSEIX]

haha no gold and purple decor at this place! lol

[Tom1]

Good sense of humor!

The idea of changing things up a bit seems like a good idea. I know I would like to try different themed hookah bars (mainly for the food).

[Apets22]

Ah, well its a little different here in michigan.

But best of luck to you, if i was older, had the connections, and the ability to open up a lounge, id much rather open up a bar directed towards more hookah aficionados and towards showing noobs the next level hookah can be taken too. Much like you are doing.

[Click]

Lol the hose is probably 62 inches long. I guess the description is worded a little oddly but its 18 inches from the start of the handle to the tip of acrylic mouthpiece.

[SixPackSunday]

very cool idea man... keep us posted on how it works


also rather than just pricing AF shisha differently depending on the flavor maybe you should sell different brands of shisha?

check out hookahbliss.com for an idea of what i'm talking about (its the lounge of a guy who mods here)

[deverlight]

I'd suggest adding Boba/Bubble tea to your beverages/snacks. Hookah and Boba tea are huuuuuuge hits with the students in my college town

[Victim026]

I don't know that I would go and use nammor's for your lounge, when your having to stretch out that hose across tables it can be quite a bit stiffer then your standard hose which can lead to tipped over hookahs when people aren't careful(Lord knows that the holes in my carpet have all come from a nammor or razan not bending the right way). Otherwise it sounds like an awesome bar with some great things goin on. Wish I had something that nice in my area, although I hope that when I do get the chance in a year or so to open my own bar it'll be as nice as yours sounds. Dever's got a nice idea to with the Boba Tea, there was one across from the the last bar I worked at and lots of people loved to go get some and come back and smoke. The only other thing I would suggest is to maybe pass on using Mya Obliesk's as your hookahs, no doubt they are great hookahs, but price wise and replacement part wise they aren't necessarily the best. It wouldn't be fun forkin over $50-$75 to replace a broken base when you could get egyptian replacement bases for less than half the cost, and from the looks of it you can't ever order a replacement Obliesk base from Mya's website. I also wouldn't discount the potential for customers of Middle Eastern descent being turned off by the Mya's, I've seen it happen many times in many different bars that you would lose that customer base over using something other then what they expect from a hookah.

[Stuie]

From a purely business stand point....

Not the Obelisk. I have one and it's a great hookah. But people are stupid and the replacement stems and bases are EXPENSIVE...TRUST ME!!!!!

Mushrat uses all QT's in his lounge.

I would recommend:
Mya Artoo
Mya Threepio
Mya Acryilic
Mya QT
Mini Mya
Mya Vortex
Mya Staff

Nammors, might be a good way to go but, get a few and start with some cheap hoses, just standard mya's.

Most business fail because they go all out and don't plain for continual upgrades. Patience man

Just my 2 Cents.

[Apets22]

I would definately not use mini hookahs at a lounge. Id be upset if I went there and got some little hookah. I know they smoke well but thats not the point.

I say for the most part if its not over 24 inches, dont use it.

[ColibriDon]

I would definately not use mini hookahs at a lounge. Id be upset if I went there and got some little hookah. I know they smoke well but thats not the point.

I say for the most part if its not over 24 inches, dont use it.

I'm inclined to agree with Apets22, here. I'd steer clear of the QT or anything smaller than 24 inches. I love the idea of the obelisk (Personally, I love your whole idea--one more cool thing for the West coast *sigh* haha) but, as Stuie, pointed out, people are stupid and if they break those things, you'll feel it in your bank.

Maybe have another hookah in mind.

[Guest DJ_HOSSEIX]

very cool idea man... keep us posted on how it works


also rather than just pricing AF shisha differently depending on the flavor maybe you should sell different brands of shisha?

check out hookahbliss.com for an idea of what i'm talking about (its the lounge of a guy who mods here)

thanks bro, im always open to new ideas. The years that i have been smoking hookah i have mostly smoked AF, layalina, Havana, and Nasty Starbuzz. I've been hearing a lot from this board about Tangiers...how is this shisha? What do you like about it?

[Guest DJ_HOSSEIX]

I'd suggest adding Boba/Bubble tea to your beverages/snacks. Hookah and Boba tea are huuuuuuge hits with the students in my college town

Another good idea! Here in orange county boba is pretty popular although ive been seeing a downward trend in sales :\

[ColibriDon]

Well, I can't speak for everyone but I love the fact that the flavors aren't all THAT sweet. Their flavors are...true to what they say they are. The blueberry doesn't taste like sugar coated blueberries...they taste like blueberries! The same for all the other flavor's I've tried. They don't overdo it.

Also, if you decide to go with giving some Tangiers a try, check out the Sour flavor. I have fallen in love with that flavor ten-fold.

[chrisrbts]

That sounds like a pretty tight bar, but you seem to be dropping alottttttt of cash into it. I wish you the best.

As far as other brans of shisha, Fantasia is awesome, but it aint cheap. But, I think you might need to get away from your personal vendetta towards starbuzz, the kind of flavors they offer make noobs drool, haha.

And I like the natural coal idea. Thats something Ive never seen at a bar. But are you sure its practical? if some one needs another coal and you then need 5-10 minutes to light it. That would personally irritate me at a lounge.

EDIT: Oh yeah, and I have an obelisk, its bad ass. But they arent cheap. Are you going to stock your entire bar with those?

At a hookah bar near me they use natural coals during "slow periods" i.e. lunch time and when they are busy they use quicklights. Just a suggestion.

Good Luck with the hookah bar though, the nammor hoses are amazing. I am not too sure about those hookahs though, if I remember correctly people who puchased them had problems with the bases shattering in the bottom corners from thin glass. Might not be the best for a hookah bar as many customers aren't always that careful, especially when it's not their own hookah.

[Guest DJ_HOSSEIX]

I don't know that I would go and use nammor's for your lounge, when your having to stretch out that hose across tables it can be quite a bit stiffer then your standard hose which can lead to tipped over hookahs when people aren't careful(Lord knows that the holes in my carpet have all come from a nammor or razan not bending the right way). Otherwise it sounds like an awesome bar with some great things goin on. Wish I had something that nice in my area, although I hope that when I do get the chance in a year or so to open my own bar it'll be as nice as yours sounds. Dever's got a nice idea to with the Boba Tea, there was one across from the the last bar I worked at and lots of people loved to go get some and come back and smoke. The only other thing I would suggest is to maybe pass on using Mya Obliesk's as your hookahs, no doubt they are great hookahs, but price wise and replacement part wise they aren't necessarily the best. It wouldn't be fun forkin over $50-$75 to replace a broken base when you could get egyptian replacement bases for less than half the cost, and from the looks of it you can't ever order a replacement Obliesk base from Mya's website. I also wouldn't discount the potential for customers of Middle Eastern descent being turned off by the Mya's, I've seen it happen many times in many different bars that you would lose that customer base over using something other then what they expect from a hookah.

The reason we choose the Obelisk (besides the fact that they look amazing) is that we are not going to be using the chair/table/sofa/beanbagg layout most lounges here in california use. We will be using a concept known by iranians as "takhte" which ill post some pictures off but we will be giving that concept a little modification and give it a bit of a make over.

Takhte:
http://www6.worldisround.com/photos/9/231/47.jpg
http://static.lonelyplanet.com/worldguide/.../BN18721_65.jpg
http://bp2.blogger.com/_wFysSz1V88Q/Rrq_g8...-h/CIMG2801.JPG
http://persia1.files.wordpress.com/2008/06...or-teahouse.jpg
http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3220/269156...08550e2.jpg?v=0

Your last point is hillarous, i know middle easterns tend to be very picky, but why dont they like Myas haha?! Dont they hit good?

[Guest DJ_HOSSEIX]

From a purely business stand point....

Not the Obelisk. I have one and it's a great hookah. But people are stupid and the replacement stems and bases are EXPENSIVE...TRUST ME!!!!!

Mushrat uses all QT's in his lounge.

I would recommend:
Mya Artoo
Mya Threepio
Mya Acryilic
Mya QT
Mini Mya
Mya Vortex
Mya Staff

Nammors, might be a good way to go but, get a few and start with some cheap hoses, just standard mya's.

Most business fail because they go all out and don't plain for continual upgrades. Patience man

Just my 2 Cents.

I totally agree with your last statement, and what i mentioned in my first post is just the beginning stages. You also have to take into consideration that where the cafe is opening + the amount of people i have in my network leads to a lounge with many "elite" hookah smokers. There will be a huge amount of iranians, arabs, and non-middle easterns that are very familiar with handling a hookah (1 of the many why cali rocks cause of its diversity).

When a customer comes into my lounge i want them to feel like royalty

[Guest DJ_HOSSEIX]

I would definately not use mini hookahs at a lounge. Id be upset if I went there and got some little hookah. I know they smoke well but thats not the point.

I say for the most part if its not over 24 inches, dont use it.

I'm inclined to agree with Apets22, here. I'd steer clear of the QT or anything smaller than 24 inches. I love the idea of the obelisk (Personally, I love your whole idea--one more cool thing for the West coast *sigh* haha) but, as Stuie, pointed out, people are stupid and if they break those things, you'll feel it in your bank.

Maybe have another hookah in mind.

haha bro you definitely need to come out here! Other options i might be considering is the Mya Collosus or Mya Staff. As far as design though the Obelisk is way to sexy haha.

[Victim026]

I don't know that I would go and use nammor's for your lounge, when your having to stretch out that hose across tables it can be quite a bit stiffer then your standard hose which can lead to tipped over hookahs when people aren't careful(Lord knows that the holes in my carpet have all come from a nammor or razan not bending the right way). Otherwise it sounds like an awesome bar with some great things goin on. Wish I had something that nice in my area, although I hope that when I do get the chance in a year or so to open my own bar it'll be as nice as yours sounds. Dever's got a nice idea to with the Boba Tea, there was one across from the the last bar I worked at and lots of people loved to go get some and come back and smoke. The only other thing I would suggest is to maybe pass on using Mya Obliesk's as your hookahs, no doubt they are great hookahs, but price wise and replacement part wise they aren't necessarily the best. It wouldn't be fun forkin over $50-$75 to replace a broken base when you could get egyptian replacement bases for less than half the cost, and from the looks of it you can't ever order a replacement Obliesk base from Mya's website. I also wouldn't discount the potential for customers of Middle Eastern descent being turned off by the Mya's, I've seen it happen many times in many different bars that you would lose that customer base over using something other then what they expect from a hookah.

The reason we choose the Obelisk (besides the fact that they look amazing) is that we are not going to be using the chair/table/sofa/beanbagg layout most lounges here in california use. We will be using a concept known by iranians as "takhte" which ill post some pictures off but we will be giving that concept a little modification and give it a bit of a make over.

Takhte:
http://www6.worldisround.com/photos/9/231/47.jpg
http://static.lonelyplanet.com/worldguide/.../BN18721_65.jpg
http://bp2.blogger.com/_wFysSz1V88Q/Rrq_g8...-h/CIMG2801.JPG
http://persia1.files.wordpress.com/2008/06...or-teahouse.jpg
http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3220/269156...08550e2.jpg?v=0

Your last point is hillarous, i know middle easterns tend to be very picky, but why dont they like Myas haha?! Dont they hit good?

I only speak about my last point from my experiences in the 4 lounges I've worked in. Here in San Antonio we've got a large number of military bases for training purposes and they deal with alot of people who are from the Middle East and are here to do military training to have better staffed armies. A large majority of these folks coming in have been turned off by Mya usage from what I've seen and we've always made sure to keep Egyptian hookahs around to please them as a customer. I've also experienced customers walking out because we didn't have a traditional egyptian pipe to offer them. I don't mean to sound biased or to offend anyone but customers from the Middle East are quite a bit more picky then you would think, hell most of them wouldn't smoke anything other then double apple and grape. Not that theres anything wrong with that(I love me some double apple or grape) but they seem to be wanting something that more closely realtes to what they would get in there home country which usually isn't found in a mass produced chinese pipe such as a Mya.

[TizaNabi]

The name is terrific. You'll have everyone and their mothers asking "what does that stand for"? which should produce simple human curiousity and a drive to check your place out.

Your detailed plans sound fantastic!!!! Best of luck, hopefully you should be seeing succsess even up and above your wildest dreams.

[Apets22]

Also, a Bohemian base fits on an obelisk.

Cause shit does get broken, thats a good looking, decent priced fix.

[Guest DJ_HOSSEIX]

The name is terrific. You'll have everyone and their mothers asking "what does that stand for"? which should produce simple human curiousity and a drive to check your place out.

Your detailed plans sound fantastic!!!! Best of luck, hopefully you should be seeing succsess even up and above your wildest dreams.

thanks bro! Yah 021 will already attract the attention of the iranian community (which has a huge population in that area) and then word will spread lol. Man i wish most of you guys were down here in cali, we would have a kick ass time haha

[Guest DJ_HOSSEIX]

Also, a Bohemian base fits on an obelisk.

Cause shit does get broken, thats a good looking, decent priced fix.

great info. do you have any links for sites that sale just the bohemian base?