Opening a hookah bar

[ashakouri1]

I found a good location in opening a hookah bar and I am really interested in doing it, but I had some questions and hopefully this board can help. I have already looked around and found some wholesale hookah sites, and honestly the cost of a hookah is minimal to the tobacco and charcoal. And I was wondering do I go to the manufacturer directly or to a distributor? Do I go to Al Fahkher or someone like hook-wholesalers for the supply?Also one other aspect, which I am completely lost in, is the food aspect. I want to serve items like hummus, labneh, French fries, and if the business is successful than I would like to move on to skewers of chicken and shwarmas, etc. But I honestly don't know where to begin. Do I need a chef or cook or are there suppliers out there like SYSCO that sell the supplies like humus and frozen skewers and stuff and I just heat it up. Cause I live in Los Angeles, and I visit Gypsy Cafe and Habibi, and Gypsys doesn't have that many choices and Habibi's Food is terrible. So i just wanted to know if they have cooks or order pre-made supplies and heat them up.If anyone has any tips or has started a business up already I would really enjoy the help.

[HookahCaterpillar]

About the food i think i can help you there. It really all depends on a couple factors. 1. How good do you want the food?2. How much are you willing to spend on food and food employees?3. How much food do you think you will be selling and to what kind of customers?Personally I would have one chef doesnt have to be a five star dining chef or anything but someone who knows there stuff. Then have a few line cooks depending on how many people you are serving, one could be enough. Have some prep cooks/dishwashers and then one person on salads. Also if you wanna go sysco style and buy commercially canned/pre-packaged stuff it will be cheaper, easier, less labors(teenagers could run your kitchen easily) and you would spend less money. The food wont be exciting, really bland just like all the other hookah bars around. If you use fresh meat and vegetables and do it the right way food could put you over the edge for hookah bars in your area. I happen to be pretty picky about the food id serve but thats just me.I know that there is a company on EBAY that sells wholesale shisha called caravan imports or something close to that. Most companys like MYA, Taqseem or standard hookah stores will have an option on their website for purchasing wholesale. You apply for wholesale buying and then they verify that you have a business and send you their wholesale catalog and you will be able to order bulk from them. good luck

[ashakouri1]

I rather not sell Mediterranean food right away when I open
up the hookah bar.  I want to leave space
for a stove and open grill and all those things required for a Mediterranean
chef.  I rather just do the SYSCO route
for a few months and see how successful the place will be. 

However, if it were successful I would want a chef who is decent and
knowledgeable.  Like you, I am picky
about my food, and places like Gypsy and Habibi in Westwood have terrible food,
particularly Habibi.

Is there a site or place I can go to hire or try out Mediterranean chefs?  Were would I find out chefs or line cooks?

[inimicus]

I would love a hookah lounge/venue to open up near here. Two things I enjoy... hookah and live music.I am a lot of a dreamer, and not enough of an entrepreneur. Otherwise I'd look into doing it myself.

[Maad]

Don't forget to keep in mind your local laws about smoking in places where food is served...it may limit your food options.  

[ashakouri1]

[quote name='inimicus']I would love a hookah lounge/venue to open up near here.  Two things I enjoy... hookah and live music.

I am a lot of a dreamer, and not enough of an entrepreneur.  Otherwise I'd look into doing it myself.[/quote]Where is near here? You live in los angeles?

[ashakouri1]

[quote name='Maad']Don't forget to keep in mind your local laws about smoking in places where food is served...it may limit your food options.    [/quote]Yeah I know, I still have a lot of research to do. If I really want to open it up I have to talk to the fire inspector, and the city to see if they will allow me to have a hookah bar.

[Maad]

[quote name='ashakouri1'][quote name='Maad']Don't forget to keep in mind your local laws about smoking in places where food is served...it may limit your food options.    [/quote]Yeah I know, I still have a lot of research to do. If I really want to open it up I have to talk to the fire inspector, and the city to see if they will allow me to have a hookah bar. [/quote]I know that here in Florida, smoking is not allowed in any place that serves a significant amount of food. However, for some reason, hookahs are exempt from this.

[inimicus]

"Here" is Folsom. Some know it as a suburb of Sacramento, some know it for the prison.

[SHISHA____]

first imppression is everything, serve fresh food, not frozen

[DownZero]

The local hookah bar here has some really good food to accompany the hookah smoking experience... and it really seems to be homemade food... well fresh food. So I don't think there would be a Sysco type supplier for this type of food.. but I could be terribly wrong.. Perhaps a local international grocery store could hook you up with some sort of contract for wholesale.. or they could lead you in the right direction. Good luck

[Cornellius]

I blieve you should contact with Tangiers and the owner of MYA, they will both help you. I believe serving MYA pipes with Tangiers shisha will give you a huge advantage against other bars and I suggest finding someone profencied with Mediterrenean Food, such as a Greek or Itallian cook maybe Mediterrenean Turk then you will be done huge profit ^^

[Sonthert]

Yes, I hear Tangiers does consulting, too.Is that true Tangiers?Yes, it is.

[smokinshisha4life]

I dont mean to sound like i am arguing with you. To each there own. But opening a restaurant or hookah bar is ALL  about first impressions. You start out with Sysco quality food and after the few months that is what your going to be known as. Try changing into good food after the first few months and people wouldnt really notice it. If it were me id have for example hommos but instead of crap hummus out of the can with storebought pita i would warm up the pita then i would have a mortor and pestle brought to the table. Inside the bowl you would have whole chickpeas, roasted garlic, some olive oil, salt and pepper, fresh herbs and let the customer or waiter grind up the hummos right in front of the customer. Its little things like that, that in my opinion defines what my hookah bar is going to be like and makes it better then the rest. Or you could buy your canned hummus and you would be succesful if you have the right location but you would just be another run of the mill hookah bar, the choice is yours.Post an add in the paper, searching for line cooks, head chefs, prep cooks, etc... for a meditteranean restaurant. Interview some people see what kind of experience they have in the kitchen and hire based on that. If you want to spend money on a chef post something at a Culinary School, when the students graduate they could be a head chef at your place most likely making good food. Good luck man

[Lukasa]

^



A true renaissance man

[ashakouri1]

[quote name='Tangiers']Yes, I hear Tangiers does consulting, too.Is that true Tangiers?Yes, it is.[/quote]Do you have a website I can look at or a contact number you can send me?

[IzA-Hookah]

I also want to open a hookah bar and offer middle-eastern food. I have family in the Middle East and last time I was there I was really paying attention to the food. The 3 main things I saw (for Amman, Jordan at least) were shawarma, masakhan, and kebab. All three are meat dishes and would be somewhat easy to prepare on my own. I was talking to my uncle about the modern incarnations of these traditional dishes and he mentioned that Amman was starting to see finger-food and fast food types of these dishes. To me this would be the easiest way to handle things. I could come in in the morning and throw together batches of these 3 dishes in tiny little burrito form (think of a taquito with bread instead of corn tortilla). When it came time to serve these dishes it would be as easy as throwing 10-12 of the finger-food sized taquitos on a plate with the right sauce or garnish to go with it. Easy to make for your staff and easy to eat for customers. I also think that the beverage selection would be the most important part of the menu. I would offer traditional Middle Eastern drinks such as cyan black tea, Turkish coffee, and lemonade with rose water. I would also offer a full service coffee bar and, most important, french press coffee. I was in Tucson last December and could only find one store that offered french press coffee and it was pre-made, not the kind you strain yourself at the table. I think that a good number of people would show up just for the huge selection of beverages and stay after they smell the wonderful aroma of shisha. Free pitchers of ice water would also make the experience much better. I find that when I am smoking I like to have cold water nearby to soothe the mouth and throat.