New Hookah Bar

[talksrealfast]

First of all, I'm new here and I want to just say hello. I've been reading this forum for a while now getting to know you people vritually. I wanted to learn a little before I jumped in and made an ass of myself. You guys have been a huge help to me and you didn't even know it, and you all deserve a huge thanks for that.

I live in Boston, and my girlfriend and I have been wanting to open a hookah bar for a couple of years now. I've kept a close watch on the hookah bars in San Diego (I vacation there about twice a year) and have watched them more than triple in less an a year. That basically lit a fire under my ass to start getting my act together and get a place set up.

I read mushrat's post about Smokestackers and the hard time he was having getting a SBA loan. I've read into it, and there are even some government sponsored loans, but that's not the hard part and not even my question really.

What I'm looking to know is, how much does it take to start up a medium sized hookah bar? I'm talking all equipment, furniture, rental costs, etc. The plan isn't to have a restaurant/hookah bar split, but just have some snack and drink items available, so a full kitchen isn't necessary. I'm willing to put in the work to get the licenses, contracts, loans (ugh), and whatnot, but I wanted to get a ballpark figure if anyone had an idea. As far as I can tell, there's at least one or two people here (Erica?) who own/run a hookah bar, so their input would be great.

[Blue Midnight]

First of all, I'm new here and I want to just say hello. I've been reading this forum for a while now getting to know you people vritually. I wanted to learn a little before I jumped in and made an ass of myself. You guys have been a huge help to me and you didn't even know it, and you all deserve a huge thanks for that.

I live in Boston, and my girlfriend and I have been wanting to open a hookah bar for a couple of years now. I've kept a close watch on the hookah bars in San Diego (I vacation there about twice a year) and have watched them more than triple in less an a year. That basically lit a fire under my ass to start getting my act together and get a place set up.

I read mushrat's post about Smokestackers and the hard time he was having getting a SBA loan. I've read into it, and there are even some government sponsored loans, but that's not the hard part and not even my question really.

What I'm looking to know is, how much does it take to start up a medium sized hookah bar? I'm talking all equipment, furniture, rental costs, etc. The plan isn't to have a restaurant/hookah bar split, but just have some snack and drink items available, so a full kitchen isn't necessary. I'm willing to put in the work to get the licenses, contracts, loans (ugh), and whatnot, but I wanted to get a ballpark figure if anyone had an idea. As far as I can tell, there's at least one or two people here (Erica?) who own/run a hookah bar, so their input would be great.

Based on the info. you provided, this question is nearly impossible to answer. I would say a minimum of 40K to start up the most basic of lounges. Maybe 100K if you want to set up a nice one. In Boston, this figure seems more realistic. I don't know, hard to say man. A lot of it depends on variables that only you can answer. Set up a realistic list of everything you think you are going to need for the place, including six months of rent on your location, and then double that figure. That should give you a rough idea....

[talksrealfast]

Based on the info. you provided, this question is nearly impossible to answer. I would say a minimum of 40K to start up the most basic of lounges. Maybe 100K if you want to set up a nice one. In Boston, this figure seems more realistic. I don't know, hard to say man. A lot of it depends on variables that only you can answer. Set up a realistic list of everything you think you are going to need for the place, including six months of rent on your location, and then double that figure. That should give you a rough idea....

Thanks man. At this early stage, I know that I've got very little info to give, but I was curious to see what kind of ballpark figures to be expecting. I was also estimating somewhere in the 50k to 120k dollar range. Real estate is crazy here, so that'll be the worst part. I read that you guys started a pretty sweet place in Michigan. How is that working out? I've read good reviews. An even better question is, how did you guys go about getting funding to start up?

[Scoop]

you should find out the (smoking) laws in your area.

Calabassas near Los Angeles has banned smoking altogether.
West Hollywood passed a law that doesn't allow businesses to offer outdoor seating past 12 weekdays, 1 weekends. Aka no smoking outside after 12 or 1 respectively. they ticket for that stuff heavily too.

just some more things to consider

[talksrealfast]

you should find out the (smoking) laws in your area.

Calabassas near Los Angeles has banned smoking altogether.
West Hollywood passed a law that doesn't allow businesses to offer outdoor seating past 12 weekdays, 1 weekends. Aka no smoking outside after 12 or 1 respectively. they ticket for that stuff heavily too.

just some more things to consider

This brings up a good point. Massachuesetts has banned smoking in all restaurants, bars, etc. However, there are three hookah bars in Boston, and one just outside of Boston. This must fall into some gray area that I don't quite understand, but what's even more confusing, I don't know where to find the answer to this question. Town hall maybe?