Opening A Hookah Cafe In The Uk

[mr.shisha]

Hey all,

So me and some buddies have finally finished College and have decided to attempt to open a Hookah Cafe in the UK. We have been to many and unfortunately have been disappointed with the quality of shisha as well as the surroundings. Don't get me wrong we appreciate the service, however after reading about the many brands and accessories availible in the US and the AMAZING Hookah Cafes I have read and seen within the US, I am certain that with the right contacts my friends and I can somehow translate the awesome Hookah Experience in the US to us folks across the pond

We have many ideas and plans, however in order to fully proceed with this, we are puzzled as to how we would be able to acquire stock as there is very limited availibility within the UK already. This is a big contribution as to why many Hookah Cafes are failing and/or are unable to provide a really nice experience.

I would be deeply grateful if anybody knew of any contacts or vendors that I could contact and perhaps work out some kind of arrangement for wholesale buy. I am mainly interested in Hoses, bowls and shisha. Unfortunately I think it may be too expensive to ship Pipes over, and may have to resort to using no name pipes to begin with, hopefully if successful we could invest in better equipment in the future.

Thanks,
Mr.Shisha

[Can-O-War]

If your having trouble finding a way to procure a plethora hookahs for your cafe, you could always buy 3-4 nice hookahs from an online shop, and focus more on the cafe aspect and simply have hookahs available to smoke. It would also make it easier to maintain the quality you are looking for.

[Moefasaaa]

definitely use the search function, you'll find tons of threads, and one by Mushrat (admin) explaining the process.
Eric (Sonthert on forums) of Tangiers shisha owns a hookah lounge, along with Mush (Adam)...they should be your best bet on advice/tips on how to go about this.
tangierstobacco.com <- Eric's website/contact info
http://www.hookahbliss.com <- Adam's website/contact info


best of luck man

[TexasHookah]

Good luck on the opening! Let us know if you want any products from the US. Just make sure to research tobacco laws and customs fees when importing from US.

[Sonthert]

Yeah, according to different thread, hookah tobacco is banned from shipment into the UK.

Hookah Tobacco ban in the UK

[SmokinMoose]

Make your own hookah tobacco, it is pretty easy once you find some whole leaf tobacco.

If i could get my hands on some in Canada I would make my own.

Candy oils glycerin and molasses or honey or Agave nectar are what you need.

[Sonthert]

That would be even more illegal...unfortunately.

[mr.shisha]

Unfortunately I have just heard of the news of the restricted importing of Shisha into the UK. However, Im determined to continue with my plans and find some way to still get my stock into the country. The US is the only place to get high quality supplies for a very nice experience in the UK. So far, all i can think of is working with vendors and receiving regular small batches of shisha and coals, lets hope the UK government make it a little easier, although that's quite a joke

Thanks all for your advice!
Mr.Shisha

[Sonthert]

They don't/ Haven't. The import duty on Sheesha is like 75 Euros per Kg. Its a lot anyways. Thats before excise taxes. They want to stop smoking by raising the taxes on it. The same way its been done for many many years with all sorts of things.