JustinTyme

QUOTE (Hannibal @ Jun 10 2007, 03:10 PM) QUOTE (JustinTyme @ Jun 10 2007, 02:26 PM) Yeah, I was thinking of the Buckhead area. I hear it's frequented by college kids and has a wonderful night life. I just hope there is a lot of foot traffic there as I will be relying on curiosity seekers in the beginning to come inside and experience a hookah. I think for my grand opening, to capture everyone's attention I'm going to put a huge sign outside that reads "Half Priced Hookahs!!" Hey Hannibal, what do they charge for hookahs out there? I know Divan restaurant is a popular restaurant that offers hookahs. Where are they located? In Buckhead? Thanks. I've never been to Divan, but here are the prices http://www.divanatlanta.com/hook.html . I've only been to one place in the Atlanta area that had hookah, Darvish (which is a persian restaraunt that had similar hookah prices as divan), which is actually located in Roswell. I know of another place that serves hookah, but that is also a little north of buckhead along GA 400, I forget the name, but its located in Alpharetta. So basically Divan is the only place that has hookahs in the Buckhead/Mid-town/Downtown area. Buckhead as ok foot traffic.....most people that go there for nightlife already know which club, restaraunt, or music venue they want to go to and so they just park close and walk to it and don't really stray away. The only place I really walked around was near The Roxy and by Lenox Square Mall. I'd say if you want a place where lots of people walk by then I suggest getting a tad bit closer to GT. Mid-town and Atlantic Station would be the prime place to set up shop. I mean competing so close to Divan may be hard, they are well established. But if you go 5 minutes south and into ATL then you can get those college kids in walking distance of your shop. Having said all this I really wish you would actually set up shop in downtown Athens. Its a bit northeast of Atlanta, but its literally adjacent to The University of Georgia. Downtown Athens has a hell of a lot of bars..........I mean alot. It has an absolutely incredible nightlife with thousands upon thousands of college students paying to have a good time. Its worth checking out, I promise you. Thanks for the info. I'll definately give Athens a close look also. I think a hookah cafe would cater good to drunk college kids looking to try something different. Especially when you add the belly dancers! Thanks again... will keep you posted.

QUOTE (Hannibal @ Jun 10 2007, 03:20 AM) Oh man i'll be sure to be there on opening day! There are almost no hookah cafe's here, just upscale restaurants with hookah on the side. I was wondering where exactly you were going to set up in ATL, it could help name your lounge. For instance if your in mid-town you can name it something like "The mid-town Smoke".......or if you are planning on being in Buckhead you could mess with that too. These are the two social hot-spots and I think using the location name somewhere will help to associate your lounge with the "have a good time" atmosphere that they have already created. If not you would probably be best with these modernish sounding titles that the other guys are suggesting, hookah here is extremely popular with college kids, so you should play to the younger crowd. Some other suggestions: "Aura", "Zephyr", "Cafe Blissful", "Celestial Smoke"..........basically anything referring to soft, smooth, heavenly, or relaxing Yeah, I was thinking of the Buckhead area. I hear it's frequented by college kids and has a wonderful night life. I just hope there is a lot of foot traffic there as I will be relying on curiosity seekers in the beginning to come inside and experience a hookah. I think for my grand opening, to capture everyone's attention I'm going to put a huge sign outside that reads "Half Priced Hookahs!!" Hey Hannibal, what do they charge for hookahs out there? I know Divan restaurant is a popular restaurant that offers hookahs. Where are they located? In Buckhead? Thanks.

I knew you guys would come up with some GREAT names. Just for reference, I am from Cleveland, but I'm opening my cafe in Atlanta. Will be moving there next month. So far I like Smooth Smoke the best!! Any more??

I'm busy getting things together for my new hookah cafe/lounge. However, I still haven't decided on a good name for it. I've had plenty of suggestions from family and friends, but nothing really stands out or has a catchy ring to it. So, I'm asking if any of you have a good sounding name for a hookah cafe. Something that's not already taken. Any ideas are greatly appreciated. - Justin

Thanks for the show of support Hookahlife. It is sad that more states don't have an exemption to the smoking bans for hookah lounges. I live here in Cleveland, Ohio (Go CAVS) but am considering moving to Atlanta, Georgia to open my business. There are already a few hookah bars and cafes in Georgia, so I am assuming that there is some type of exemption in the smoking bans for hookah lounges. I realize that exemptions for hookah bars and cafes do exist in states that have banned indoor smoking. I think I'm more concerned about the government lifting the exemptions in the future. I don't want to invest my hard earned money in a business venture without some assurance that I can continue to serve my hookah smoking customers for many years to come. And I don't want to hop from state to state to do it either. I guess this is one of those things where you just have to try it and see what happens.

QUOTE (hookah hippie @ Jun 4 2007, 11:52 PM) Here's a thought have a membership for your cafe charge $0.01 that way your cafe is a private establishment and you could permit smoking inside Thanks for the quick reply! I thought about that too, but there is a problem with doing it that way. Many laws define a "private establishment" as NOT having any employees. I have heard however that in California, some hookah cafes have made their employees part owners of the establishment in order to manipulate a loophole in the anti smoking laws. Don't know how that would work though. Good idea nonetheless.

Hello everyone!! I'm interested in starting a Hookah Cafe with another business partner, but I am concerned about all the smoking bans that states have been coming up with. I noticed that many states that have banned public indoor smoking have allowed hookah cafes to stay opened. My question is.... for how long? I'm afraid to get too involved in this business venture and then a year or two down the line have the government tell me I have to shut down. Any thoughts? -Justin Tyme