Hello, I Am New To The Site And Am Looking For A Bit Of Guidance

[ClareRose13]

Hello all

My name is Clare, and me and my husband are looking to start up a hookah bar in a small town in Southern Ohio. It is kind of a college town, so I figure, but do not assume, we may have a good customer base.

We have a building in mind, but it is only up to Retail Code. My first question is to anyone who would know where about I would go to find out exactly what I need to get my building up to code. Our state has a smoking ban, so we are going to have to be very careful in compliance with laws and regulations not only for our state, but also for our town.

I am looking for any kind of insight and advice, not only about my question but the idea in general. Any input would be wonderfully appreciated

[Giant Ninja Robot]

hey there, welcome to the forum and good luck in your venture! I don't have any advice other than to search the forum for advice topics and start your own as well. People wont really come across your questions here :/

there are plenty of existing threads about starting up hookah bars it's just a matter of finding them

[NY Hookah Fan]

Hello Clare and welcome to the website!

Like ninja said you should definitely start a new thread in another section of the forum as it will gain more attention than in the 'Introductions' section.

I don't manage a hookah lounge but I have many friends who do and have talked to them about how they started up their own business. A few quick tips of advice:


1) Make sure you have the resources and money to do so. Do some research on supplies, rent, staffing, and other miscellaneous costs. I don't know how people are fairing with loans from banks nowadays with the way the economy is pushing, but I would definitely keep this in mind when considering starting a hookah lounge business.

2) Location, location, location! Don't build a hookah lounge in the middle of nowhere, in a "culture ditch", or where there is a high range of competing businesses. Survey some areas and find a place where you'll have a surplus of demand. Some of the best places for hookah lounges are near university campuses, cities, college towns, and vacation hot spots. The demand for hookah is increasing and most of it comes from younger audiences.

3) Take time out to study hookah and everything about it. You don't want to blindly build a hookah business without knowing the first thing about hookah. Many places I have gone to have tried to sell hookah smoking merely for it's face value, but fail to provide the true quality behind it. Do your homework!


Other than that I can give you more advice, but I'm not a seasoned businessman. Good luck to you!

[sleeperhit]

First you could read up here;
http://codes.ohio.gov/

This will have a good amount of info for all codes and regulations in the state of Ohio.
You should read up on whichever you need to for ADA compliance laws and transaction safety, which most small business places skip out on. Which bites them in the ass later.

Then you should check out what the revised building code standards are for your area. Which have to be perchased (yeah I know, sucks) from the International Code Council.

Also try your local Department of Commerce. Usually they'll have all that info inside or on a state website. Ask them about Industial Compliances.

The easy loophole would be to get an inspection done to see what needs to be done. It will cost but if you are serious, then the few extra bucks to have a dirrect contact with somebody with all the ADA and Building codes will be more then worth it.

Keep in mind. No matter the state. ADA compliance is serious stuff when dealing with a business that deals with the public. Like bars, clubs and lounges.

Hope this info helped!