Best Products For The Money? (hookah Bar)

[PhxKarma]

I am looking at the wholesale prices of various items, and I am looking to get the best quality equipment for the money. I am looking to see what you guys would reccomend for these:

Hookah: I am going to have two tiers of hookahs, regualr and premium. For the regular hookahs, I want something solid and small, but will still provide a good smoke. I was thinking the Mya Qt?

For the larger hookahs, I want a good two hose that at least 24-30" tall.

I plan to have upgraded hoses with the larger hookahs. Are Razan the best or what?

And do those rubber things you can put on the bottom really help them not tip over and slide around?

Tobacco: I plan to have 3 tiers of tobacco, regular, premium, and super premium. For regular, I plan to use Al Fakher. For premium, Starbuzz? And for Super Prem, I plan to use Fantasia. What would you reccomend?

Charcoal: I was told natural coals are better than QL's, but are they cost effective? How are natural coals heated, with a heater or a torch? Which brand would you reccomend for either?

[mattarios2]

Mya qt for small hookahs

For bigger hookahs you could use MZ, MYA, or KM. (pick whatever ones fit your atmosphere)

For shisha I would say get tangiers/nakhla in there at least one of the two, most likely nakhla because it is easier to work with and cheaper, have a regular line, a premium line, and then a "hardcore" or something along that line. And pack nakhla or tang for them. Premium, super premium all that jazz sounds stupid to me. Just have regular, premium, and then a more intense line. That is what I think.

But def talk to Mush about this stuff he has experience with what hookahs work best.

Only down fall of using myas is the inside of the hookah is rough and that makes it harder to get all the smell/flavor out of the pipe from the previous session.

For coals I'd say exoticas, prob your best bang for your buck, even though I am using GC religiously atm, but that is because I am just looking for a great quality coal and not bang for my buck.

And for the base protectors, they make it easier to fall over, harder to slide around on the table, if someone yanks it, it will be easier to tip because the better grip causes it to not move, but will cause it to fall from where it is placed because it is unable to slide, but the grip will make it not slide easily on glass or tile or anything of that sort.

[SimplexCoda]

i wouldnt suggest having 2 tiers for hookahs cause if you do that im sure youll charge 2 different prices. I wouldnt walk into a place and pay more for something that im not taking home with me. So it would be smarter to just use basically all the same hookahs for the same price.

For tobacco i would personally go with more than 3 brands and see what sells the best. Also as for selling something as "premium" and "super preium" I wouldnt go through that either cause at least personally i see something labled as such and stay away from it cause its typically just hype esp starbuzz. I would try brands such as AF AW layalina tangiers nak fumari and maybe a few more.

For coals i would always go with naturals cause they are better and i dont know what your askin about cost effective cause al awael coconut coals and exotica coals are both cheaper and better than ql's. esp when comparing to 3kings. Natural coals can be lit with a torch or a coil burner. YOu can get a burner from wal greens for 10 bucks so.

Anyway hope that helps.

[Zinite]

Hookah: For the smaller sized one, definitely go with a Mya QT. You can buy them wholesale from myasaray.com. For a premium multi hose, check out Magdy Zidan hookahs. They are quality egyptian hookahs.

Hose: Razan hoses (or Nammor, they are the same thing), work extremely well. The main benefit of this type of hose for a lounge would be that you can wash them out. One of the biggest problems I've heard of with lounges is that the hoses are old and ghost flavor. With the Razan, that wouldn't be a problem.

One issue with the Razan/Nammor hose is that they have somewhat of a reputation for falling apart. I personally own 3 and have not had this problem.

Tobacco: I'd personally do it like this:

Regular: Nakhla (runs about 6 bucks for 250g, I'm sure much cheaper wholesale. Adding a few tsps of glycerine per 250g can give you huge clouds too)
Premium: Al Fakher
Super Premium: Starbuzz

Charcoal: If I were going to run a lounge, I'd definitely use natural coals. You might want to do some research and find out where John from hookahjohn.com gets his Natural Coconut Coals from. If you could somehow buy a bulk order of them, that might save you a LOT of money.

Natural Coals are lit on stove burners. Most of us use electric coil burners from Wal Greens. They're about 10 bucks. If I were you, I'd buy three or four and keep one or two always on so coals can be lit in 2 or 3 minutes.

http://www.walgreens.com/store/product.jsp...i_sku=sku350528

[jezter6]

Honestly - if you're still asking about basic questions about natural coals - you are not ready to even think about multi-tier hookahs and 3-tiered flavor lines.

[PhxKarma]

Honestly - if you're still asking about basic questions about natural coals - you are not ready to even think about multi-tier hookahs and 3-tiered flavor lines.

This is the research phase of the business, I will admit that I do not know much about hookahs, I used to smoke a lot, but over the last few years that declined due to college and work.

Thanks to everyone who responded. I think I am going to use Nakhla for the regular, AF for the next tier, and then Tangiers for the top tier? The price between brands won't really vary that much, just a few $ more per bowl. Edited January 27, 2009 by PhxKarma

[PhxKarma]

Here is my tentative flavor list:

Nakhla Tier - $8
Nakhla Apple
Nakhla Cherry
Nakhla Choco-Mint
Nakhla Grape
Nakhla Mint
Nakhla Sweet Melon
Nakhla Cola
Nakhla Mixed-Fruit

Al-Fakher Tier - $9
Al-Fakher Bubble Gum
Al-Fakher Lemon
Al-Fakher Mint
Al-Fakher Grape
Al-Fakher Watermelon
Al-Fakher Pineapple

Tangiers Tier - $10
Tangiers Blueberry
Tangiers Brambelberry
Tangiers Cool Strawberry
Tangiers Chocolate Mint
Tangiers Green Apple
Tangiers Juicy Peach
Tangiers Marischino Cherry
Tangiers Tropical Punch

I am not 100% on all the flavors yet, some I want to try or find reviews for first.

[inino]

ok im going to explain how natural coals are lit for a hookah bar that wants to be cost efficient. by natural i dont mean coconut coals. i mean bulk coal that comes in a 40 pound bag.

go to smart and final and get the 100% natural bulk coal. its about 12 bucks for the bag. get a small bbq and start a log with a torch, as it gets busier put more coals on. the first coal will light the rest. when they are lit they are easy to break. get or make a coal holder with air holes for ventilation that you can put the coals in after they are lit to transport to the smokers.

you can buy cocos or exoticas or whatever and go through lots of boxes every night and waste alot of money just becuase they are easier to light, but the bulk is way cheaper and you can light alot and keep them going, taking from them as you need.

out of all the hookah bars i have been too they all use this method and i use it home.

as far the hookahs go, you have a pretty good idea, and i would even just stop at regular and premium tobacco. customers dont like alot of choices and 90% wont know the difference.

where are you located just out of curiosity?

[Hobbs]

Here is my tentative flavor list:

Nakhla Tier - $8
Nakhla Apple
Nakhla Cherry
Nakhla Choco-Mint
Nakhla Grape
Nakhla Mint
Nakhla Sweet Melon
Nakhla Cola
Nakhla Mixed-Fruit

Al-Fakher Tier - $9
Al-Fakher Bubble Gum
Al-Fakher Lemon
Al-Fakher Mint
Al-Fakher Grape
Al-Fakher Watermelon
Al-Fakher Pineapple

Tangiers Tier - $10
Tangiers Blueberry
Tangiers Brambelberry
Tangiers Cool Strawberry
Tangiers Chocolate Mint
Tangiers Green Apple
Tangiers Juicy Peach
Tangiers Marischino Cherry
Tangiers Tropical Punch

I am not 100% on all the flavors yet, some I want to try or find reviews for first.

A much nicer list than my local place. I would be wary with Tangiers though, get really good at it first, because if people come to your lounge and leave sicker than dogs, it will hurt business.

[PhxKarma]

ok im going to explain how natural coals are lit for a hookah bar that wants to be cost efficient. by natural i dont mean coconut coals. i mean bulk coal that comes in a 40 pound bag.

go to smart and final and get the 100% natural bulk coal. its about 12 bucks for the bag. get a small bbq and start a log with a torch, as it gets busier put more coals on. the first coal will light the rest. when they are lit they are easy to break. get or make a coal holder with air holes for ventilation that you can put the coals in after they are lit to transport to the smokers.

you can buy cocos or exoticas or whatever and go through lots of boxes every night and waste alot of money just becuase they are easier to light, but the bulk is way cheaper and you can light alot and keep them going, taking from them as you need.

out of all the hookah bars i have been too they all use this method and i use it home.

as far the hookahs go, you have a pretty good idea, and i would even just stop at regular and premium tobacco. customers dont like alot of choices and 90% wont know the difference.

where are you located just out of curiosity?

Smart and Final? Never heard of them, how do the coals come in the bag, squares or bricks or something?

Cheaper is always better!

A much nicer list than my local place. I would be wary with Tangiers though, get really good at it first, because if people come to your lounge and leave sicker than dogs, it will hurt business.

This is true, I might offer some of the Lucid flavors, or just stick with AF and Nakhla. I keep forgetting how much stronger the Tangiers is.

[Zinite]

If you're going to use Tangiers, go ahead and use Tangiers Lucid line, There is a learning curve associated with Tangiers and if you mess up a bowl, the customer might come back. Lucid is washed, and can be packed like normal shisha. Also, you might want to pick up a little Tangiers F-line. It has caffeine in it, and might be something that more experienced smokers want.

inino gave good advice about the coals.

By the way, I'm in Tucson. I have family in Phoenix and go up there every once in awhile. Can't wait to try your lounge out once you get everything in order. Where are you looking at setting up shop?

[joytron]

do you know how to pack tangiers well (you arent gonna have a place full of phunnels)?


i would only use washed tobacco as people before have barfed from that stuff at my hookah bar(remember a lot of people who go to hookah bars dont smoke regularly). I dont get the two tiers of hookahs, i would do all MZ's or something like that. I would suggest doing AF and stabuzz if you do two tiers or at least tangiers lucid. Everyone who starts smoking loves Starbuzz. And please for the love of good dont use AF pineapple!

[cotsi95]

If you want a cheap quality hookah thats durable (VERY IMPORTANT) go to southsmoke.com and pick one of there ~20in hookahs we use them in the lounge and the are very good!

For tobacco go with a regular and premium forget that super premium people wont spend the extra money for it.

for reg go with :
havanna
laylina
aw
nakhla

for premium go with :
fumari
some starbuzz (very expensive for a lounge. Choose a few flavors)
af

then add tangiers later.

for coals we use fumari jap coals (the same as golden canary) there expensive but very good.

[Zinite]

do you know how to pack tangiers well (you arent gonna have a place full of phunnels)?


i would only use washed tobacco as people before have barfed from that stuff at my hookah bar(remember a lot of people who go to hookah bars dont smoke regularly). I dont get the two tiers of hookahs, i would do all MZ's or something like that. I would suggest doing AF and stabuzz if you do two tiers or at least tangiers lucid. Everyone who starts smoking loves Starbuzz. And please for the love of good dont use AF pineapple!

What's wrong with AF Pineapple!!?!! Soooo delicious

[Voski]

You won't survive without starbuzz. I am sorry but most of your customers will be looking for starbuzz and are not going to enjoy getting skull ****ed when they order tangiers. I would also recommend getting AF peach and cherry on there. Nakhla packs a punch too so I don't know if customers want to get that much of a buzz.

[newjacksm]

When I go to hookah bars most of them dont offer starbuzz only one doesn't and it caters to kids. The ones I go to carry Nakhla, Al-Waha and Al Fakher. They all do great business and are runned traditionally. The one that isn't runned traditionally sucked and we walked out of there with out paying the tab... They offered starbuzz. The crowd in there were all 18 year old kids that looked like they were out to go clubbin and ready to do some JAGER BOMBSZ!

[cotsi95]

we walked out of there with out paying the tab...

NOT COOL!! My friends own a lounge and I ABSOLUTELY HATE people like you! If you dont like it fine talk to the manager and they will probably a. give you another bowl free of charge or b. make you not pay anyways. But just walking out is not cool at all! SHAME ON YOU AND YOUR FRIENDS. What you did is stealing. Would you go to a restaurant and leave without paying because your food wasnt good? NO. People forget that a hookah bar is a service industry.

[antouwan]

when do you plan on opening up?

[thecyrax]

If you want a cheap quality hookah thats durable (VERY IMPORTANT) go to southsmoke.com and pick one of there ~20in hookahs we use them in the lounge and the are very good!

Isn't that just a MYA Acrylic?

[inino]

well if you dont have a smart and final, there must be some kind of wholesale store, costco sams club, maybe even walmart will have the coals. or if you live in cali i can tell you where to get them even cheaper than 12 bucks a bag.

[inino]

sorry i forgot to answer the other part of the question. they come in logs like they look like they got chopped off of a tree then turned into charcoal. each one is different shape. when you get the first one going then you just add more and more as business picks up.

[PhxKarma]

I am going to change up the flavor list today, thanks for the advice.

[PhxKarma]

Should I not use Nakhla?

I was thinking of Nakhla ($8) - AF ($9) - Starbuzz ($10) - ?

[PhxKarma]

I think I am going to use these.

Nakhla Choco-Mint
Nakhla Cappucinno
Nakhla Cola
Nakhla Tropicana
Nakhla Sweet Melon

Al-Fakher Bubblegum
Al-Fakher Café Latte
Al-Fakher Grenadine
Al-Fakher Mint
Al-Fakher Mixed Fruit
Al-Fakher Peach
Al-Fakher Plum
Al-Fakher Sweet Melon
Al-Fakher Vanilla
Al-Fakher Watermelon
Al-Fakher Golden Grape
Al-Fakher Gollden Strawberry

Starbuzz White Peach
Starbuzz XOTB
Starbuzz Blue Mist
Starbuzz Margarita
Starbuzz Guava
Starbuzz Citrus Mist
Starbuzz Wildberry Mint Edited January 27, 2009 by PhxKarma

[mattarios2]

get rid of nakhla tropicana and go with mango or mandarin orange, they are much better than tropicana.