Hookah Bar Wish List!

[Bane]

Hello fellow hookah-lovers!

I have for several years now been very interested in opening up a hookah bar. I need some input on what people really look for in a great hookah bar, and I figure that there's no better place than this to ask, since everyone here is so passionate about hookah.

So please, if you are able, take the time to answer these few questions

1. What features/services can you ABSOLUTELY NOT LIVE WITHOUT in your ideal hookah bar?

2. What features/services would it simply be nice to have in a hookah bar?

3. What features/services can you do without in a hookah bar (in other words, don't do it)?

Thank you in advance for helping to answer these questions It will be really interesting to see what everyone has to say!

~Bane

[.cOLt.45.]

Hello fellow hookah-lovers!

I have for several years now been very interested in opening up a hookah bar. I need some input on what people really look for in a great hookah bar, and I figure that there's no better place than this to ask, since everyone here is so passionate about hookah.

So please, if you are able, take the time to answer these few questions

1. What features/services can you ABSOLUTELY NOT LIVE WITHOUT in your ideal hookah bar?

2. What features/services would it simply be nice to have in a hookah bar?

3. What features/services can you do without in a hookah bar (in other words, don't do it)?

Thank you in advance for helping to answer these questions It will be really interesting to see what everyone has to say!

~Bane

Well i think you should A. Set the mood..get some good music..some nice lights..have some special things like...say..at my local hookah lounge they have house night..where they play house..or discount night where the price is lowered from 4€to 3€ Make sure you are friendly to people... if they are not enjoying their smoke..refund it for em...i was thinking of putting this in a hookah bar..you could have a test session...before people buy they can smoke like..one of those mini hookah pipes to test the flavor and such... Let them mix..and for an extra price..add vodka into the mix =) lol hope it helps

[Victim026]

Price and Shisha quality are usually the major make or break components for me. My fav shisha place uses lots of Havana and Al Waha, and has a price of $11 for a hookah with $4 for a refill... If you make it to happy hour you can get hookahs for $7. My suggestion is to do what you can to get quality product with a great price point.

[DizzyGuy]

Atmosphere is a big thing... Big comfy chairs/couches/pillows/places to sit and chill are a big thing for me. I like to be comfortable smoking

[Lakemonster]

1. Clean hookahs. everytime.

2. Ambience and mood (music surroundings) to set a chill vibe.

3. Reasonable prices. $8-12 per head depending on brand.... anyting above that I would consider wasteful.

Stuff I would like to see.

1. A rewards program... treat your guests to a free bowl or so much off with the purchase of x# of bowls. Its good to reward your returning customers.

2. Offer custom mix orders.... if the customer wants 40% orange and 60% strawberry. say no problem and hook em up.

3. Wi-fi spot for lap surfers.

4. Backgammon and chess sets. Perhaps some handheld backgammon LCD games for loners (hae to come up with a way to keep them from walking off)

Stuff I would do without.

1. Hip-hop nite. dont care for that crowd... dont want to share space with them.

2. Booze in the jar.... at least you'd never see me ordering hookah that way.

[angemonkwj]

1. Clean hookahs. everytime.

2. Ambience and mood (music surroundings) to set a chill vibe.

3. Reasonable prices. $8-12 per head depending on brand.... anyting above that I would consider wasteful.

Stuff I would like to see.

1. A rewards program... treat your guests to a free bowl or so much off with the purchase of x# of bowls. Its good to reward your returning customers.

2. Offer custom mix orders.... if the customer wants 40% orange and 60% strawberry. say no problem and hook em up.

3. Wi-fi spot for lap surfers.

4. Backgammon and chess sets. Perhaps some handheld backgammon LCD games for loners (hae to come up with a way to keep them from walking off)

Stuff I would do without.

1. Hip-hop nite. dont care for that crowd... dont want to share space with them.

2. Booze in the jar.... at least you'd never see me ordering hookah that way.

just to add one thing to ur perfect list lake, maybe checkers also as i've never really gotten into chess all that much.

[SLF_1452_]

Hello fellow hookah-lovers!

I have for several years now been very interested in opening up a hookah bar. I need some input on what people really look for in a great hookah bar, and I figure that there's no better place than this to ask, since everyone here is so passionate about hookah.

So please, if you are able, take the time to answer these few questions

1. What features/services can you ABSOLUTELY NOT LIVE WITHOUT in your ideal hookah bar?

2. What features/services would it simply be nice to have in a hookah bar?

3. What features/services can you do without in a hookah bar (in other words, don't do it)?

Thank you in advance for helping to answer these questions It will be really interesting to see what everyone has to say!

~Bane

Well, good ambience, good music, good ventilation, good people, and most importantly, good shisha. You also need reasonable prices, and be lenient with your customers. The ventilation for me is sometimes a deal breaker because i wont go back to the hookah bar if it is too breezy to blow rings in.

I would say having good food (if you dont live in a city with a smoking ban ), and good drinks. Delicious tea makes a good hookah bar into a great one.

I would say keep the hookah bar separate from a dance club. I watched in horror as my favorite hookah bar slowly transformed from a chill place to go with a medium crowd to a dumbass high school student dance club. Where annoying preppy jock kids come to be as loud and obnoxious as they can while they get up on tables and dance.
I know that came off as really bitter, but i hate those little bastards, haha.

The biggest thing for me however.............treat your regulars with respect. Nothing feels better than being led in past a bunch of whiny high school kids because you know and respect the owner.

[McDarragh]

Also having live entertainment helps - over here one of the shisha bars has belly dancers on a certain night (forgot the night) and live music. The food is awesome and the serves big. Also getting a wide selection of shisha's will help. Maybe even having a 'sultan' for special occasions or for a larger price or something.

[Bane]

Thank you everyone for your input! Pretty much all of your suggestions are good, and are things that I would most likely implement in a hookah bar. Proper flavor/brand selection is a key element, along with price. I would probably have a lot of flavors by AF and Fumari, with the option of custom mixing. I would also probably have a "signature flavor" that I devise and mix myself. As far as price, I would probably just pick a starting price ($7-$10) and adjust it according to business flow. There would definitely be a happy hour and a discount night, as well as perhaps some theme nights. And that was a really good point about the "breezyness" and not being able to blow smoke rings. A hookah bar needs to be cozy, and can't really be drafty if it's going to work.

The way I would probably do it (and the way I've seen it done) is to petition off each smoking area with curtains and drapery, creating a private little area for each group of guests. Each area would contian a round, low table on which to place the hookah, and coushions on the floor encircling the table. Also, there would be a no cigarrette smoking rule inside the lounge, to avoid the smell of that kind of smoke. (good idea? bad idea?)

I would not serve alchohol, even in the bases, because alchohol + hookah = bad news almost always. Especially in a college town. I would instead serve a variety of natural teas and coffee, and perhaps some kinds of small food items, such as you might find as an appetizer in a restaurant. These could be ordered from the comfort of each guests' separate smoking area.

As far as atmosphere, I would probably burn some incense, but not so much that it would become overpowering. Lights would be kept semi-dim, or perhaps have a separate dimmer switch for each smoking area so that the guests could choose their level of "chill". I would play appropriate music throughout the lounge (I've already begun building a song list), and have appropriate live music/performers (bellydancers, etc) when possible. I would try to make the interior as relaxing and inviting as possible, painting the walls in warm colors, placing plush rugs on the floor, and working with lighting to create a relaxing space. I would probably try to make the decoration a kind of "traditional modern". I want to kind of go for the sophisticated look, while maintaining a good level of cozyness.

Some other features I would definitely implement would be the free wireless internet access and the board games. Excellent things to have, and great to keep people coming back. The punch card idea is really good too, customers could buy 10 bowls and get the 11th free or some such. That might help in bringing people back more often. I could also have a "Hookah movie night", where I would show a movie and people could watch while enjoying a smoke. The only trouble with that is that I don't know much about the liscensing and what I would need to do to be allowed to show movies in-house.

I'm still up in the air as to whether I would use traditional style hookahs or modern style. Any suggestions? In any case I would probably try to have almost all matching hookahs (maybe in different colors).

How is this sounding so far? Please, please post more ideas if you have them, as I'm looking to get as much input as possible!

Thanks, let me know what you guys think!

[Bane]

Any other thoughts? I don't want this topic to get buried just yet

[McDarragh]

not allowing ciggy's IMO is a great idea. Movies could be difficult because if you had a full bar people would be contending with a smoke screen

I'd go for a variety of hookah's rather than all the same as i like to study the shisha while i smoke and if there all different you can study each in turn

As for the curtains i'd do away with that one - leave the bar as a more social place where you can get to know others (especially other regulars) when there.

just some of my ideas.

[ghostofdavid]

1. What features/services can you ABSOLUTELY NOT LIVE WITHOUT in your ideal hookah bar?

I am with the rest of the people who mentioned a rewards program. Before it was banned, I would go to the local shisha bar from time to time and one guy there recognized me by face and tried very hard to learn my name. Though there was a large language barrier, his politeness transcended that and I liked that. When I bought a giant Egyptian (which I have since sold), he gave me and the 8 people I were with (we all split 4 hookahs) free in-shop smokes. It was a nice gesture and an excellent way to do business.

If alcohol is not going to be served, please stock a lot of fine juices and teas for the traditional crowd. For those who are not into traditional drinks, energy drinks (Bawls) are nice to have.

If you don't serve food, please let your good patrons purchase food from neighboring places or allow them to order to the hookah bar.

Please, please, please do away with quick lights. If someone is spending around 10 dollars a bowl, please give them the option to use natural coals over QLs... or give natural coals to those who request them.

2. What features/services would it simply be nice to have in a hookah bar?

Belly dancers or traditional live music would be a nice... modern stuff, have chill and relaxed ambience.

3. What features/services can you do without in a hookah bar (in other words, don't do it)?

I am not much into the "club" scene and I appreciate hip hop but not when I want to relax and smoke, unless it is thoughtful and mellow hiphop. I don't want to hear about biiyotches, weed, and cappin' five-oh when smoking sweet, sweet tobacco.