December 7, 2005
City Council to Visit Hookah Bars
If there was any silver lining to the cloud of cigarette smoke District residents nervously enjoyed in area restaurants and bars last night, it's that hookah bars may be granted a blanket exemption from the smoking ban that the City Council endorsed yesterday on a 12-1 vote. Council-member Jim Graham, whose Ward 1 enclave includes a number of the Middle Eastern-themed establishments, has announced that he will introduce an amendment to the smoke-free legislation to ensure that hookah bars can stay in business across the city.
Of course, when Graham announced his intentions at a council meeting yesterday, he drew puzzled responses from some members of the council. "What's a hookah?", their troubled faces seemed to ask. As reported by the Examiner:
During Tuesday's discussion on smoke-free legislation, the subject of the water pipe - a popular way to smoke tobacco in the Middle East and India - came up, and most council members had no idea what it was.DCist is just tickled at the idea of seeing members of the council and their staff nervously eyeing and taking hits off of hookahs packed with flavored tobacco, furiously scribbling their thoughts on the experience and courting passing voters in between puffs of smoke. But where should they go to do their "on-site research"? The stylish Chi-Cha Lounge on U Street, or the more spartan Prince Cafe along Wisconsin Avenue? Maybe Soussi or Queens in Adams Morgan?Council Member Marion Barry, D-Ward 8, said he had never heard of the device.
"What do you smoke in them?" said Barry, drawing a huge laugh.
Council Member Jim Graham, D-Ward 1, who was hoping to exempt the popular hookah bars from the new law, offered to take Barry to one of the two hookah establishments in his ward.
"I don't want to go," Barry said. "I have enough problems already."
Graham's amendment was delayed, and he said he would take several council members to the bars for "on-site research."
Where would you like to see Graham and Co. do their research?
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I seriously doubt Marion Barry doesn't know what a hookah is. Councilman Graham should've just referred to it as a water bong - would've cleared up any confusion.
Or as a crack pipe for ninnies.
Seriously, since when does Mayor-for-Life Barry stoop to attending Council meetings? Was his TV broken? Nothing better to do? And is it me, or does the Council like twice every damn day? Where do they find so much time to infuriate me? I can barely get p.o.'d at one harebrained idea before I have to lose my top over another.
Sweet: like it or not, Marion Barry is a current Council Member, Ward 8. (Refer to original post.)
To the question at hand: I like Queen Cafe on 18th, and would be very sad if it closed.
Shhh....don't tell people about Soussi. Great place for a mid-week relaxing drink and smoke. And good beer there, to boot...
I bet if they allow hookah bars to stay open, every place will buy a hookah and call themselves a hookah bar. Like those strip clubs you read about that avoid laws against stripping by passing out pads and say they are really teaching art classes.
Yeah, riiiight, hookah bars should be except. It's just a clever attempt of the owners to get more drinking business.
I'm sure only about 1% of their income comes from hookah smoking.
so the amendment exempting hookah bars will only allow the smoking of hookahs or will also allow cigs as well?
I wouldn't be surprised if they make alot of money off hookah smoking. I know prince cafe charges something outrageous like $10 a bowl of tobacco (that's if you're lucky and they aren't charging a cover that night). To give you an idea of how much profit that is a package of tobacco costs $10 and that can get you at least 10 bowls, probably more. Plus if you ever go to hookah bars you will find alot more people smoking hookah than drinking (partly because you only have to be 18 to go there, but usually they don't even enforce that rule...). At least that's what I have found in experiences there.
Hey Drew, they don't even sell alcohol at Prince Cafe, the largest hookah-bar mini-chain in the area. So no.
BUT to the question at hand, take them to Lebnan Zaman in Vienna, VA. I know it's not in DC, but it's where all the real Arabs go.
Is Chi Cha really a Hookah bar? They originally didn't have any if I recall. They eventually just showed up and now seem more popular. They get pissed if you put anything in them besides flavored tobacco though.
I do see every bar in town (Wash DC, the Hookah capital) having one if they excempt Hookah bars. What would be the criteria for being a hookah bar? Buy four of the suckers and some flavored tobacco and people can smoke cigarettes in your bar then?
Aziz said:
Hey Drew, they don't even sell alcohol at Prince Cafe, the largest hookah-bar mini-chain in the area. So no.
Doesn't Muslim law forbid the drinking of alcohol?
1. I'm not positive if Islamic law forbids drinking alcohol, since I'm not Muslim. But I think it does.
2. This whole thing is stupid. Why outlaw smoking altogether? It's fascism* if you ask me. The answer that would make everyone happy - auction off a limited number of smoking licenses to bars in the city. Bars win - the establishments to which smoking is important will pony up the money to buy the licenses and pass the cost through to their patrons. The city wins - by holding an auction for the licenses, they maximize their income from the sale of these licenses. Restaurant/bar workers win - they are free to choose between working at a smoking or non-smoking establishment based on their own implicit risk/reward analyses. And patrons win - those who abhor cigarette smoke (and, in turn, freedom*) can choose to go to the non-smoking establishments, while those who value smoking will be willing to pay incrementally more for drinks at smoking establishments. Tell me, why wouldn't this work?
* Footnote: Before you jump down my throat for throwing these terms around so flippantly, please recognize that it was meant to be hyperbole.
I watched the Council meeting and thought this part was hilarious. Barry kept referring to them as "hookum bars." "Mr. Graham, I'd like to ask you to table the amendment until we can find out more about what these hookums are."
Seeing Barry in one of these places? Too easy. But I'd kill to see Vincent Orange sitting in Chi-Cha's with a piece in his mouth.
As far as every bar in town getting a hookah if they exempt them, Graham already covered that. The exemption was only for bars that fit the definition of "hookah bar" prior to January 1, 2006. If every place in town is going to get one in the next three weeks, they'd better work fast!
Washington Post Live Online on the issue happening right now.
I don't remember the name of it, but there is a hookah bar on 18th Street toward the south end of Adams Morgan. I've been in there, and the hookah thing is a big part of what they do. People at most of the tables had ordered hookahs. It was actually quite fun. Putting an exception in the law for these kinds of establishments (and cigar bars) seems only fair, though I admit there is the possibility of abuse (having a few hookahs just to get around the law). Patrons who go there know what it's about. I can see why non-smokers don't like going to a regular bar that is filled with smoke, but these places are specifically geared to it.
I strongly suggest going to any one of the non-trendy places on the list during Ramadan. It's quite a scene.
Cara, I'm all too aware that Mayor-for-Life Marion Barry is currently a Council Member. That is no reason, however, for him to deign to bless the mere mortals of the Council with his presence. Just ask him whether it's worth his time, if you can find him. Hint: he might be behind the Gasifier, hiding from the IRS.
NB: Mayor-for-Life is Barry's permanent title in the City Paper's "Loose Lips" column, which has been skewering DC politicians for years. It's a shout out to his complete political indestructability. One day it'll just be him and the cucarachas. And he'll be elected mayor.
It seems it would be better policy to just exempt the smoking of hookahs rather than to try to define "hookah bar."
NYC allows for hookah bars so they must have come up with some exceptions to get around their smoking ban. That can be a model unless there's something seriously wrong with the way they did it.
I think Aziz' idea is best. Just have a limited number of smoking licenses and let the free market sort it out. Just like taxi medallions.
Also, chi-cha has had hookuhs for at least the past 6 years. For a while (when they were really popular) they didn't offer them on certain nights, b/c they'd get knocked over.
I doubt it's as simple as adding a couple of hookahs to get an exemption. As I recall from when this was happening on Long Island a few years back, they define things like cigar bars by what percentage of their business is derived from the sale of cigars versus alcohol. It's like defining a restaurant as a restaurant rather than a bar by a certain percentage of profits being derived from food sales.
bongs are ok, but cigartettes are bad. i understand.
WHAT THE HELL IS WRONG WITH THESE PEOPLE!!!
jb samuel
Nice outrage, but you're missing the point of the exemptions. It's entirely about the place and its business model, not the type of smoking materials. As someone suggested up-thread, one possible response might be the creation of "cigarette bars" that sell individual gourmet or fancy imported cigs along with the booze. Not sure if they would be actually be allowed, if they're not specifically mentioned in the legislation that's enacted, but it's an interesting idea.
There's a very apropos article on the cover of the Wall Street Journal today on the NYC ban and how it exempts hookah bars. Interesting reading. Although I know a lot of readers will feel the need to cleanse themselves with the communist manifesto after reading the capitalist swine propaganda that is the Wall Street Journal.
"DCist readers tend to be left-of-center." I think you've hit on something groundbreaking there, Apropos. And so condescending in your revelation, too!
Well I guess I should have added that they tend to be humorless too.
Jesus, it was just a tounge-in-cheek joke. Relax. If you really don't think that the knee-jerk liberalism of peoples' comments here don't deserve the occassional good natured josh, then you have got to stop laughing at others before you learn to laugh a bit at yourself.
And as a Grecian-American, I find your singling out of me to be particularly offensive.
Oh, I love jokes. I love funny ones even better. Kidding.
The article is subscriber-only, I guess I'll have to take your word for it. Though I've read elsewhere (probably here) that only hookah bars that operated as such before the end of the year would be grandfathered in, so I don't know if the "Tom-Tom can just add a few hookahs and maybe some Persian rugs and call itself a hookah bar!" argument will necessarily fly.
Boy, I love it when ideologues say something overreaching or even offensive about "the other team" and then start shouting, "Jeez, can't you take a joke!?" as soon as someone complains. For the record, jokes can beo misguided, confused, offensive, and even (believe it or not) unfunny. Merely being intended as jokes doesn't exempt them from criticism or analysis. The kind of mind that describes (or even jokes about) every left-of-center person as a godless communist is exactly the kind of mind that calls all Republicans "fascists," i.e., a not very bright one.
Political polarization in this country has really gotten out of hand. I blame blogs.
P.S. Sorry about the grey hair, Apropos.