Hookah bars good hangouts

TARA CUSLIDGE Published Friday, Nov 25, 2005

There's nothing wrong with a little hookah.

Aficionados of the flavored tobacco at Stockton's Amaraen Café, say sharing the pipe is as much about the social aspect as it is inhaling.

"I hate to call it a modern day 'Cheers' with a twist," said Claire Stoker, 18, a regular patron. "But that's kind of what it is."

Unlike the faded TV series where "Norm" seeks alcoholic refreshment at the day's end, many of the patrons at the Amaraen Café come for puffs of a water pipe. The café doesn't serve liquor.

Smoke at your own risk, though. Hookah is tobacco, and does put people at risk for oral, esophageal, and lung cancers, according to Paul Knepprath, vice president for government relations at the American Lung Association of California.

But establishments such as the café are becoming more popular with young people while garnering concern from city leaders outside of Stockton. In fact, two cities in California have tried to limit or altogether ban hookah activity.

In October, Anaheim City Council voted to crack down on the area's 11 bars trying to propose new laws limiting the kinds of activities that go on in hookah bars. Unlike the Amaraen Café, some of the hookah bars in Southern California do serve alcohol.

Earlier this month, Dublin City Council voted to ban hookah establishments within city limits. In Chicago, hookahs may be snuffed with a new anti-smoking policy.

OK. Hookah smoking, like cigarette smoking, is detrimental to your health. But, banning a hookah bar seems a little blown out of proportion. Nobody is telling the patrons to smoke after all.

From the looks of things at the Miracle Mile location, the hookah bar is a fun place to be for those who enjoy the product or just want to hang out.

The cafe, opened last year by owner Ameer Farah, 27, is a full-service location.

Beyond the more than 30 flavors of available hookah -- the favorites are double apple and fantasy grape, said preparer Elizabeth Von Aspern, 21 -- there are also beverages, Internet access, and an aqua massage machine. Don't worry, there's no illegal smoking going on; identifications are checked at the door.

"Everyone here is my age or younger," said Farah of the night's crowd. "They're all in the same age group, Generation X. Generation Y as well."

The café, with its mellowed patrons, seems the least likely of hot spots for trouble.

And the trend goes beyond the Valley.

A few weeks ago, on a visit to Chico, a guy at my boyfriend's apartment complex walked by with hookah in hand ready to spark up. The neighbors had one on their coffee table. It served as a "functional art piece" someone said.

Farah said his patrons are actually spread across race, gender, and age. Many of his customers have hookahs at home but come to the bar to mingle.

That's why Stoker and friend Hildara Alonso, 19, come.

Alonso said the hookah bar fills a void for the 21 and under crowd, who want something beyond the typical movie theater offerings and don't want to venture outside city limits.

The two were gathered around a crowd of 10 people in lawn chairs with five hookahs between them. Nobody buys the same flavors, said Alonso.

"It's a really cool environment," she said.

Clean fun may not be the best way to describe it.

"We're not talking about a harmless product here," said Knepprath. "We're not talking about a safe alternative to cigarette smoking. Hookah smoking is the same as smoking tobacco."

Smoking is unhealthy. But everything else that goes on at the hookah bar doesn't resemble anything worthy of prohibition. The scene is positive and friendly.

It may not be everybody's idea of a night out, but it's good the hookah bar isn't under such a bad haze in Stockton.

Contact Tara Cuslidge at features@recordnet.com