Smoking ban might snuff Hookah Bar
The statewide smoking ban taking effect Jan. 2 might force one local business to close its doors.
The Hookah House and Coffee Shop, at the corner of King Street and Third Avenue, has been open for two years. Allison Wierman and her husband, Kevin, opened the business after they became acclimated with hookah while they were serving in the Middle East. Allison served in the Navy Reserves for eight years, and Kevin is retired from the Navy.
A hookah is a water pipe. Shisha is what is smoked in the hookah. The business features two types of Shisha — tobacco and non-tobacco.
Because the business features tobacco, it will not be allowed to continue offering Shisha after the smoking ban becomes law.
The new law bans smoking in nearly all restaurants and bars. Private clubs and cigar bars are exempt from the no-smoking restrictions, but hookah bars have not been included in that exemption.
“We’ve seen that the new law will shut us down,” Kevin Wierman said. “We are hoping for some kind of amendment to the law, but it doesn’t look like that’s going to happen.”
Kevin Wierman said he has spoken to Rep. Carolyn Justus, R-Dana, but he said she didn’t have much to offer in helping his business.
“We have talked more with other hookah bar owners in North Carolina,” he said. “We have tried to get organized, but there are only about 12 hookah bars in North Carolina.”
Kevin Wierman said he and his wife have considered switching to just coffee and ice cream, but he doesn’t think his business would survive. “We don’t see that as a viable option,” he said. “For now, we are planning on closing our doors”
One big complaint Wierman has is that Shisha has been classified as smoking, but he said that the tobacco is not fired, it’s baked. The law talks about burning tobacco.
If nothing changes in the law, the Wiermans are planning to go back to school.
“My wife and I are former military, and we plan to take advantage of the GI Bill,” he said. “If we close, I will also be disappointed for our customers.
“We had a lot of positive feedback. Our shop was an item Hendersonville will miss. It gives people another option in town to go out and avoid alcohol or drugs.”
© Blueridgenow
