Fines can’t snuff out hookah sales

WHERE THERE’S SMOKE: Providence is cracking down on hookah lounges, but has yet to extinguish the practice. Pictured above, from left: patrons Devon Mills, Leanne Lamoly and Ghazy Daher at Skarr Hookah Lounge. / PBN PHOTO/RUPERT WHITELEY
WHERE THERE’S SMOKE: Providence is cracking down on hookah lounges, but has yet to extinguish the practice. Pictured above, from left: patrons Devon Mills, Leanne Lamoly and Ghazy Daher at Skarr Hookah Lounge. / PBN PHOTO/RUPERT WHITELEY

First it was VIP bottle service. Now it’s hookahs.
In its latest push to tame unruly nightlife, the city this winter cracked down on bars and restaurants serving Middle Eastern-style water pipes in violation of state anti-smoking laws.
Since a warning letter announcing the start of the crackdown last November, police have brought violations against eight establishments in difference parts of the city, according to Public Safety Commissioner Steven Pare.
Raids have seen pipes seized by police and fines issued by the city Board of Licenses.
But although it may have slowed hookah business, the city’s push hasn’t ended the practice.
Numerous establishments still advertise hookahs and many, if not already serving, are pushing for exemptions to begin again.
“The city came in about a month ago and I stopped serving [hookah] for a few days, but everyone else kept serving,” said Joe Karam, owner of Opa restaurant on Atwells Avenue in the Federal Hill neighborhood. “I spoke to my lawyer and he said we have the proper tobacco license and ventilation system, so we continue serving.”
Gianfranco Marrocco, owner of several Federal Hill nightspots – including two designated smoking lounges – expects the effects of the crackdown to wane with time.
“What I have seen with some neighbors is they stopped when the enforcement started, but it impacted them so much now they are starting again,” said Marrocco, who has clashed with the city over a number of nightlife issues, including the legal fight over VIP bottle service last year. (In November, a Superior Court judge ruled in favor of the city, and against the R.I. Department of Business Regulation, saying any VIP bottle service is illegal.)
“First bottle service and then hookah. I don’t know what is next,” Marrocco said. “They will make Providence a dry town. I don’t know how much less business-friendly the city can become.”
While Marrocco’s Smoke Lounge cigar bar and Skarr Hookah Lounge are designated smoking bars, a third property, Amici Sports Bar and Grill, was cited by the city for a hookah violation this winter.
Marrocco said he has stopped serving hookah at Amici while considering whether it may qualify for the smoking-bar exemption.
Frustration with the business climate and city rules are among the reasons Marrocco has fielded offers to buy as many as five of his nightlife businesses, including Skarr, Smoke, Amici, Club Karma and Wise Guys Deli.
The hookah situation in Providence is complicated by the legal framework around smoking in Rhode Island, which was banned in most indoor workplaces, including bars, in 2004.
An exemption to the rule was carved out for “smoking bars,” establishments that generate more than half of their revenue from sales of tobacco products.
In 2012, the most recent year available, the state received 17 affidavits for smoking bars, 14 of which were located in Providence, according to R.I. Division of Taxation spokesman Neil Downing.
But while the state Division of Taxation determines eligibility for the exemption and the R.I. Department of Health fields complaints, actively weeding out violators is left to local police and licensing boards.
Pare, the city public-safety commissioner, said hookah has only become popular in the last few years and proliferated from a niche product to a common offering in a wide range of bars and restaurants.
“We hadn’t seen hookah in the past and it does not resemble cigarette smoke, because it’s a vapor,” Pare said. “As it continued to grow we have received complaints and the solicitor looked into whether it is permissible. Any tobacco product is not allowed unless you are deemed a cigar bar.”
Even at the state level, there is no official “smoking-bar license.”
Any business that sells tobacco must apply for a permit from the Division of Taxation, which “requests” that smoking bars file an affidavit declaring their status as such.
Pare said most establishments claiming smoking-bar status are doing so “after the fact” as a way to keep selling hookah. He said he doubts that many with full bar and restaurant menus actually make more from hookah charges than food and drink.
Since the crackdown, Pare said there has been a substantial reduction in hookah usage in Providence.
“That is the sense I get,” Pare said. “Those who thought it was OK and lawful have since complied. We are not seeing them.”
Across town from Atwells Avenue, Thayer Street on College Hill has become another hookah hot spot, to the displeasure of many neighboring residents and business owners.
Concern the lounges were drawing an immature, unruly crowd helped drive the city’s new streetscape and land-use plan for Thayer Street toward improvements that would attract a more upscale visitor.
At the trendy Shark Bar and Grille on Thayer Street, hookah was pulled after a police raid in December, but management is now investigating whether the sushi-hibachi-cocktail lounge makes enough off tobacco to qualify for a smoking-lounge exemption.
“We are not serving hookah, but we have been working on the paperwork to be able to sell it again,” said Shark General Manager Nino Gheryany. “If the percentage of sales compared with food and drink work out, we will sell it. If not, we won’t.”
While the Federal Hill and College Hill lounges draw the most attention, the bulk of the establishments cited by police this winter have been in lower-profile locations, such as south Providence, the West End and Wanskuck. Many market to a Spanish-language clientele.
While Pare doubted many establishments could match drink sales with hookah, Marrocco said authorities may be underestimating the profitability of hookah.
At anywhere from $25 to $50 per pipe order, with tobacco overhead costing only a few dollars per serving, hookah margins are tough to beat.
“I think a lot of businesspeople will just pay the fine and keep going,” Marrocco said. “It is an all-around good revenue source. At $35 to $50 a pop, if you have a full nightclub, you can absorb a fine.” •

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  1. Obviously, Mr. Marrocco interests do not include being a high class restauranteur, but is into money grubbing at its worse., Maybe this explains why his once terrific Meditearrano has gone down hill on quality. Serving quality food in a quality environment is not high priority with him as his property on De Pasquale Square – La Dolce Vita – clearly shows. The place is a mess – gaudy signs, unkempt outdoor area with weeds and debris every where. A tour inside denotes uncleanliness which why I never go there for Sunday breakfast any more. Mr. Marrocco doesn’t know how to hire people especially his hostesses -they offer a poor first impression, poorly dressed, and most irritating – rude and lacking in manners or a welcoming behavior.