Startup....

[evolixsurf]

Hi guys, Nice to be here!

I have already tried searching but it did not work out to well. I saw every topic on the main page come up for my search!

Anyway a friend and I are seriously looking at properties to potentially start up a hookah lounge/dance floor.

I feel like a kook/troll asking this, but hopefully someone whos experianced and knowledgeable can actually answer some of my questions.

If you have a good atmosphere, hookahs/accessories, and location. Will you make enough profit for two owners?

Is this generally a good startup business?

Where can I find this information already covered?


What would be a roundabout cost for say 18 hookahs, shisha, coals, accessories? (all of higher quality)

Obviously there is alot more, but Ive got that covered.

What is the best way to jump into this?

Thanks alot!..... Wheres the beer mug icon around here!?!?!?

[.cOLt.45.]

I suggest "The trip" from www.mnhookahs.com because it's acrylic (Won't break) and it lights up when you inhale which is great if you include a dancefloor and whatnot

18 hookahs...hmmabout 500 dollars if you get the trip.. and coals and tobacco..I#d put in for a bulk order of about 1000-2000 on all that...

[mushrat]

where were you planning on putting this?

[DizzyGuy]

Dancefloor/hookah lounge? That seems like a polar opposite... And no, if you are gonna get a lounge, I don't suggest the trip... It's more of a party hookah IMO. More causual smoke than a lounge type hookah. I guess one thing you need to check, besides location and demand for this type of thing, is how are you gonna go about getting your licenses and which ones do you need.

[evolixsurf]

Undisclosed Popular Northern California location.

Polar opposites? EXACTLY


Talk to me about licenses?????

[DizzyGuy]

Well, you'll have to have a retailer license I'm guessing... maybe a special one for tobacco. Not sure what goes with the dancefloor though... will there be drinks served?

[skiracerj1]

If your area has a smoking ban, your gonna need a smoking lounge type license, as well as a tobacco sales license and of course a tax license. Also I dont think 18 hookahs will be enough, the minimum i've seen at any lounge I've been to is around 40. Remember it takes time to clean hookahs after each user, and with only 18 I dont think you'd support enough customers to make a real profit. Of course this also depends how many people per hookah you'll allow, and how much you charge. The people per hookah is inverselfy proportional to the amount of hookahs you'll need of course. All that said, good luck and I hope you have success with your business venture.

[JoeLipinski]

A few questions that come to mind are:

1. How many hookahs do you expect to be serving at a time (this depends upon the size of your lounge. The local hookah cafe has sections of seating, when a larger group comes in they combine the sections, but if you can get a good idea of how many sections you want to have, then you can get a better idea of how many hookahs you need.

2. Smoking ban issue and proper premits (can't help you out as I am in pittsburgh, pa)

3. What brand shisha would you want to serve? You might consider multiple brands. Tangiers is located right in sunny california, so you could talk to him about using his brand. Some people find his brand very strong so you should also look into alternatives to serve in addition. Perhaps havanah or al waha (you could talk to steve about taking some of the cases of his hands)

4. Would you be selling shisha, accessories, hookahs?

5. Some people intrested in starting a lounge, have concerns over people putting weed in the hookah after you serve it to them. My suggestion is to use wind screens to protect the coals from spilling onto the floor and people and to also not leave the tongs there, so people wouldn't be able to move the coals to get access to the shisha.

6. would you be serving food, drinks?

and finally

7. What kind of atmosphere are you trying to achieve?

Good luck, hope to help more, just need some more details.

Joe

[evolixsurf]

I figure anywhere between 10-12 hookahs at a time. Depends on the size of the lounge and day of week.

I know you need plenty clean backups...

I do not know about the smoking ban issue in the area, thats on my list to find out asap

I would sell shisha and basic accessories, good price.

Our carpet will obviously be black commercial carpet, it will hold up to a few coal burns here and there from some jackasses.

Atmosphere? Honestly, I need some leather couches, some booth's some smoothies, you get the point. I want this to be a chill place. Not necessarily some religious area. I want people to feel relaxed, content, not bored, and feeling good...

Edited May 4, 2015 by evolixsurf

[lwieise]

The success of your lounge depends a lot on the city you're going to be in. The first and only (so far) lounge in my area was only open for about 6 months before they closed it because of lack of business. The same people also own 2 head shops in the area but hookah just didn't go over too well with the people. I know you said "Undisclosed Popular Northern California location" but make sure that the people there are ready for this type of thing. Market it to your demographic.

[Yonatan]

The success of your lounge depends a lot on the city you're going to be in.  The first and only (so far) lounge in my area was only open for about 6 months before they closed it because of lack of business.  The same people also own 2 head shops in the area but hookah just didn't go over too well with the people.  I know you said "Undisclosed Popular Northern California location" but make sure that the people there are ready for this type of thing.  Market it to your demographic.

I totally agree lwiese

I'm 14, but I grew up in the silicon valley and I can tell you this:

3 most important words in business:

1) Location

2) Location

3) Location

while opening a hookah bar next to home might seem like heaven, if the people in your area aren't ready or interested...

you WILL fail miserably.

so please, before you waste huge amounts of dough on something questionable, make sure you'll have at least enough customers (preferably ones that will come back again and again and bringing in more people each time) to be making a steady profit.

Supply and Demand.

[Hookah Man]

ok ur already making a big mistake, you CANNOT let them touch teh coals themselves that is all by your staff

always have a wind cover over everything so they cannot touch it

you do the shisha, you do the coals, you do the wind cover

you set it up at the table, and every 45 minutes you throw on another coal for like 5 bux

id say start it 25 bux (unlimited tobbaco as long as they are paying for new coals

this would be a huge profit youd make the hookahs back (supposing they are around 75-100 bux each) in about 10 smokes

and the coals you can get holesale for like 25 cents so your making a profit on those

and the shisha just buy by the case

just make sure its something that doesn't need alot of time for set up and shit

so nakla works very welll


alcohol is a big thing cuz u need liscences but once u have it, you make money

if u force them to buy 1 or 2 drinks, which most places do, your making like 10 bux a person just off that

but that gets fucking annoying

do not let more then 4 peopel use a hookah, or else peopel will abuse your set up.

id say get 30 Good quality, 30+ inch hookahs, with stainless steel stems, and order maybe 3000 coals (umm that would be like under 500 bux) and lonce you find a brand, buy like 10 cases of every flavour and put it on a menu (about 18 bux a case)

get dif color bases, with matching hoses

and then get 30 wind covers,


which ever site you buy it from, or where ver you buy it from MAKE SURE they give u alot of free shit, and make sure its reputable

then u need hose tips








yeah this will be fun, where u think its gonna be?

one thing i think would be mad cool would be like BLACKLIGHT wednesday or somethign liek that cuz then all the smoke would be blue

well hope u like some of the shit i say, just make sure you dont go into to much debt b4 u know its gonna be a success (but u can always sell these hookahs, coals, shisha, and shit later on if u decide not to use it)

[SanguineSolitude]

25 bucks for a hookah. 5 bucks for a coal. youre right you would make amazing profit. but not from me. theres no way in hell im paying that much. since the most expensive coals on the market (japanese) cost 17 cents for 2 extra coals... charging 10 bucks for 2 coals is absolutely unnacceptable. and for nakhla? even if i spend 4 hours at my local lounge. thats like 2 bowls of starbuzz(nakhla costs 7 bucks a tub starbuzz costs 20) for 12 bucks each with essentially unlimited coals included. so youre telling me you want me to spend 25 bucks on shitty nakhla as well as pay for the coals? yeah... noone will do that except for some stupid rich kids with no sense.

sorry hookah man but no.

blacklight could be mad cool.

[DrShisha]

lol you guys have crazy prices here in england average price is about 9 bucks a hookah. Unlimited coals. Even if u go london it wont be more than 15 bucks. Unlimited coals.

[lilotaku]

ouch! 25 bucks a bowl and 5 bucks for another set of coals? The highest it gets around here is like 15 bucks a bowl. I understand you live in cali and the cost of living might be higher, but 25 bucks will kill off a lotta potential customers unless you plan on having a really high class hookah joint.

[Hookah Man]

well i live in ny, they charge 30 bux for a hookah + u gotta buy 2 drniks a person, each being at least 7 bux


so basically with a group of 3 ur paying, 30 bux, + 14 + 14 +14, which with my math is about 72 bux + tax and tip which is comes out to like 80 bux


the hole point is that hes trying to make a profit, and as long as the hookah is good, and the palce is CLEAN people will come

and i just put those numbers up as somethign to work off of, he has to make a profit pretty quikcly because he doesn't wanna spend a year making back what he spent cuz that would be a scary time for him

he can move it to like 30 bux unlimited, or 10 bux unlimited, but then hes stuck with fucking kids who just sit there for 4 hours and he just looses the table and hes loosing money

time is money, and they should be paying for that

and yeah blacklight hookah would make a shitload of money LOL

[mgcsinc]

That kind of crazy pricing might work in NYC, but you won't get a single customer if you charge prices like that most places. In Georgetown, Washington, DC (a very wealthy place by most measures), the popular place charges $10-15, and people actually started bitching and refusing to go after they instituted a $7 minimum per person (e.g. 2 people buying a $10 hookah session now have to buy a $4 plate of baklava to meet the minimum).

Your pricing would work for the rich 22-30 y/o after-work bar crowd, but it wouldn't get nearly the business that the cheaper place gets, and your profit-making would probably be limited to certain nights of the week (the place in Georgetown is often full every night of the week late into the night). I guess it depends on what you want to be to your customers - a bar that has hookah for a huge price mark-up, or a hookah lounge where customers go specifically to smoke hookah, not to buy drinks and spend a million dollars impressing those around them. I have a feeling that it takes a very upscale market in a big city to support the former type (hell, you might even be able to get something like that to work in a place like Georgetown), but the latter type can easily survive in a much more diverse set of markets.

Just my thoughts...

[Sonthert]

It will run you around $50,000 for what you are proposing. You need to get a CA retailers license, dance halls are police regulated businesses so, you'll need to get a police permit for dancing.

I would not advise it. If you want to open a dance club, open one. If you want to open a hookah lounge, open one of those. If you open just a hookah lounge, people who don't like dancing will still come. If you open just a dance hall, people who don't like smoking will still come dance. There are other laws and regulations in CA, that combination may not be possible, in fact it is unlikely.

If you would like to hire a consultant, feel free to send me a PM here.

[bradfordr]

ok ur already making a big mistake, you CANNOT let them touch teh coals themselves that is all by your staff

always have a wind cover over everything so they cannot touch it

Why wouldn't you want them touching the coals by themselves?

[danjohn]

Where I work we let customers handle the coals themselves on busy nights and it seems to work fine. The main problem is broken heads from hookahs being tipped over. I would suggest at least 40 hookahs though maybe not at first but on a fri-sat night at our place I probably pump out at least 80 + hookahs a night. The dance floor idea is not bad just make sure there are no hookahs near it. It will help bring in the younger crowd, although maybe just have it on specified nights. Hope I've been somewhat helpful.
-Dan John

[CaliforniaRose]

Undisclosed Popular Northern California Location?

Be Careful. I lived in SF for years (18) before moving south to Santa Cruz (where I've been for 5 years almost). Cities have often shut down hookah bars, you will need a special license since smoking is banned in restraunts all over California. There aren't many hookah bars between Sacramento and Southern California (when compared to other parts of CA, I think I counted 8 on the list between Sac and LA), I think there's a reason for that. My Source is:
http://www.hookahculture.com/hookah_lounges.htm#JumpCA

Scroll through it will give you ideas of what your lounge should look like be, it suprised me but in So Cal there is already a hookah/dancefloor. Its name is Fusion Cafe (another called Cafe Odessey), its in the listing I gave you. Its more complicated then you think. Each City may have a different opinion on licenses and approving them.

[Scheetz]

wow, 30 bucks a hookah is a joke. Thats why you don't go there anymore. Then they realize the price is crazy and they will drop it.

yeah, I suggest you either go with dance or hookah. They don't seem to work together and you are going to have to cough up a larger chunk of change then you are thinking. charging for coals is stupid, they cost less than 20 cents a piece and you dont need a wind screen on each. Get a latched bowl if you are that worried about weed. But then again, you plan on having a lot of things going on in your building, so I dont doubt its going to happen.

on another note. Couldn't you pass out after getting your heart rate up dancing and then trying to smoke the hookah? wouldn't the deep inhales really mess you up?

[Hookah Man]

ALOt of places dont let u touch the coals/shisha yourself for varios reasons such as drugs, tampering with the equoipment, possibile burning, using outside tobbac, or outside coals

its better for you to control your "product"


Also make sure that you have coupons like, buy 10 sessions get 1 free or something

peopel buy into that crap and go alot more


tell me when u start up and ill stop by 4 sure

[DizzyGuy]

Here's an interesting way to get a few extra bucks... have your regular prices for regular bowls, but have a medium phunnel special... because those things can go for hours upon hours depending on what you use