Just the idea of smoking a hookah conjures up mysterious images of the Kasbah; fragrant smoke, romance, intrigue, even a hint of danger. Shadowy figures lounging around exotic bubbling appliances rising from low tables like steamy candelabras.
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Hookahs, shishas, water pipes; whatever the terminology, one thing they are is hot. And not just from the charcoal burning inside them. Hookah bars and restaurants have sprung up in a number of neighborhoods in San Antonio drawing a large audience of mostly young aficionados.
Abdulmajeed Al-Obaidi came to America from Iraq in 2000 and opened San Antonio's first hookah café, Shisha, in 2003. And business is good. Al-Obaidi has recently leased the space next to his at 5500 Babcock with plans of expanding to accommodate a growing number of customers.
"It was slow when I first opened but now we have a steady stream of customers," he says. "We have a lot of regulars who are here often. Some come almost every night."
Al-Obaidi's choice of location wasn't a coincidence. It was selected specifically for its proximity to University of Texas at San Antonio, the South Texas Medical Center and USAA - all with significant youthful and/or Middle Eastern populations.
Hookahs originated in India around 400 years ago and spread quickly throughout the Middle East. The first ones were made from coconuts and were known by the Persian word for the fruit, narghile. When glass bowls were adopted so was a new name, shisha, which means glass. Probably the best-known hookah reference in Western culture is the one smoked by the caterpillar in Lewis Carroll's "Alice in Wonderland."
'A way to socialize'
Al-Obaidi says it's hard to estimate how many customers he has in a night since they flow in and out.
"I'd say we have between 60 and 70 people during our peak hours. Our customers usually stay two or three hours each. They'll have some food, some coffee or tea and smoke the hookah while they chat," he says. "I'd say 99 percent of the time our customers come in groups or couples. It's a very social atmosphere."
That social aspect of hookah smoking seems to be the main attraction.
"It's Starbucks for people who don't like Starbucks," says Amanda Jakubowski, 24, as she puffs sweet-smelling tobacco on the patio at Cool Café on Vance Jackson. The restaurant, which opened in 2005 at the corner of De Zavala Road, is only blocks from the UTSA campus, a rich source of patrons.
"I was introduced to it by a friend of mine," she says. "I probably only smoke once or twice a year. I don't smoke any other tobacco. It's not really a craving or an addiction. It tastes good, it's relaxing and it's something to do while we're hanging out together."
Nita Campos, 25, has been smoking a hookah for six or seven years, but only while socializing. "I like the blueberry, the really fruity flavors. It's a way to socialize. We sit around and chat while smoking."
Shawn Yekta, the owner of Cool Café, grew up in Iran where hookah cafés are common. He's been offering his customers hookahs and a choice of more than 60 tobacco flavors ranging from Coca-Cola to pomegranate since the day he opened in 2005.
"I smoke a hookah," he says. "It's a way for people to get together and relax. That's how I started. It's a very big part of socializing in the Middle East."
Ordinances apply
As with most hookah cafés, smoking is only allowed on the patio at Cool Café. San Antonio's smoking ordinance only allows smoking in enclosed designated smoking areas in bars and restaurants. And federal law prohibits the sale of tobacco to anyone under 18.
"We have a mix of customers," Yekta adds, "some men, some women, some young, some older. Some come in for the food, some for the wine and some for the hookahs. I'm seeing more people coming in for the hookah. It's growing in popularity as more people try it."
Aaron Root, 45, is another Cool Café customer. A chiropractor, he tried the hookah after seeing other people smoking them. "It's an exotic cultural experience," he says. "I come here every couple of weeks. They set up the hookah for you and light it. My favorite flavor is rose-honey. It's a strong flavor."
The sweet, candy-like smoke from a hookah may seem innocuous enough, but is it really safe? Not according to a study published by the World Health Organization in 2005.
The study found that hookah tobacco and smoke contain numerous toxicants known to cause lung cancer, heart disease and other diseases. Even after it has passed through water, hookah smoke contains high levels of toxic compounds, including carbon monoxide, heavy metals and cancer-causing chemicals. And while hookah tobacco contains less nicotine than cigarette tobacco, a hookah smoker, during a one hour session, inhales the equivalent of 100 to 200 times the amount of smoke in a single cigarette.
"Smoking is smoking," says Shisha's Al-Obaidi. "And any kind of smoking is dangerous. I'm not going to try to say it's not. But hookah tobacco has very little nicotine. Hookahs aren't as harsh as cigarettes or cigars. The smoke smells like roses or peaches or whatever flavor the tobacco is. Cigarettes stink. Hookahs smell beautiful. When you walk in here, you don't smell tobacco."
San Antonio's newest hookah café is Zorba The Greek's on Northwest Military Highway in Castle Hills. Owner Norman Dmour, a Jordanian, has owned two other restaurants in San Antonio. He and his brother also own the Cedar Restaurant in San Marcos which also offers hookahs to its customers.
"It's a way to get people, especially young people, into the restaurant," he says. "Hookahs are becoming more and more popular in San Antonio. The tobacco is usually fruit mixed with honey and it's very sweet. That appeals to young people ..."
Other hookah cafés and bars in San Antonio include Hush Lounge at Club Rive on Commerce, Hookah Café on Thousand Oaks, Joe Momma's Coffee House on Babcock and Sultan Café and Grill, also on Babcock.
The use of a hookah and an hour's worth of tobacco runs anywhere from $4 to $12 around town depending on the location and time of day. Since most hookah smoking is done at night, rates are higher during "prime time."
Al-Obaidi adds that Shisha Café is also a taste of home to Middle Easterners in San Antonio.
"I'd say about 70 percent of our customers come from UTSA so there are a lot of college kids," Al-Obaidi says. "But we get a lot of people from Lackland (Air Force Base), too. A lot of them are from the Middle East.
"Society is different there," he explains. "We don't work as hard there as people in America. We work in the morning and then by three or four in the afternoon we're through. We'll go home and take a nap and then go out in the evening to the cafés. That's a very important part of Middle Eastern culture," he says. In Iraq, he explains, siblings and cousins socialize frequently throughout their lives.
"That's part of the attraction of a hookah café," he says. "There's that family atmosphere, that social atmosphere where you sit around talking for hours while you're smoking the hookah." Enditem
