Hookah bars rare in Hub - Tough restrictions on tobacco use limit Boston smoking bars

By Jessica Kribbs Published: Thursday, October 6, 2005

Kashmir, an Indian restaurant on
Newbury Street, is one of the few
places with a hookah bar.

Finding a place to smoke in Boston may leave you breathless. But in this sharply regulated city, there are a few hidden smoking bars that might just take your breath away.

One of these is Tangierino, the only restaurant in the city that offers an indoor smoking lounge. Manager Hamed Naamed explained that the restaurant acquired the license before the citywide smoking ban went into effect, which enabled them to keep the lounge.

A public smoking ban was enacted in Boston on July 5, 2004, upsetting many bar and club owners. Tangierino, located next to Bunker Hill Community College in Charlestown, was able to keep its smoking lounge because the stipulations of the ban allow exemptions when a venue is considered a licensed smoking bar.

"It's a different type of license," Naamed said. "It was very hard to get and took us almost over a year to get."

To be considered a smoking bar in Boston, more than 51 percent of the bar's revenue must come from the sale of tobacco products. Because Tangerieno has a separate lounge and primarily sells hookahs, cigars and cigarettes, it was eligible for a permit to be considered a smoking bar.

Tangierino offers a small, cozy atmosphere with only 36 seats, making it constantly crowded. The lounge used to be connected to the restaurant and was separated once the ban went into effect.

"We've been here for about four years, and the lounge began about a year after we opened," Naamed said.

Naamed explained that the fact that Tangierino is the only place in Boston that offers an indoor lounge where patrons can smoke hookah as well as cigars and cigarettes has helped business.

"It's busy all the time," Naamed said. "We're open every night and crowded every night."

Tangierino attracts a younger crowd of mostly college-age patrons.
Berklee College of Music senior Jonathan Young said he enjoys Tangierino because it is an escape from the rest of the city.

"It's the perfect place for a first date or just relaxing with friends," Young said. "It's like stepping into another part of the world. It's really too bad there aren't more places like this throughout the city."

Young added that Tangierino offers a different atmosphere than the bar scene.

"The bars and clubs can get old," Young said. "This is a great alternative to that. It is much more laid back."

There are a few other seasonal options for hookah. Kashmir, an Indian restaurant on Newbury Street, offers hookah on its outdoor patio, and Tantric, an Indian restaurant on Stuart Street has hookah every Friday night in their bar area.

College of Arts and Sciences junior Jackie Crowe said Tantric's hookah night is a fun place to go with friends.

"I had never been to a place that allowed it in Boston because they're pretty stringent about the smoking law," Crowe said. "Tantric is a good place to go with friends and relax because it is laid-back, yet modern."