City's Hookah Bars Under Fire

By Anna Deem in News on Jun 12, 2010 5:45PM

New hookah bars that are looking to set up shop in Chicago may have a more difficult time doing so, as North Side Aldermen Pat O'Connor (40th) and Marge Laurino (39th) are fed up with the flavored tobacco smoking lounges that have turned into "private little clubhouses for underage smoking and drinking," according to the Chicago Sun-Times. O'Connor and Laurino want to make it a requirement that hookah bars have to obtain "special use permits," which will require them to get approval from the community and permits from the Zoning Board of Appeals before they're allowed to open.

During Wednesday's City Council meeting, O'Connor spoke at length about the issue. "Fights. Drinking inside. Drinking outside. Gunshots. People coming from all over. We can't allow that to take hold in a community. I don't want to be fighting a hookah license from a disadvantage after they've turned into a bad establishment," he said, according to the Sun-Times.

An anonymous manager of a North Side hookah bar assured the Sun-Times that minors are never served, nor is food or alcohol. "We card very hard. We know we're liable if we sell tobacco to someone under 18," the manager said.