Makhlouf now has three hookah lounges in Rhode Island - Providence Byblos at 235 Meeting St., Nara at 248 Atwells Ave., and Jamra Hookah Lounge at 680 Admiral St. You come in, you think you’re in Lebanon.” “Our objective is to give people the whole experience - the food, the culture, the aroma. “It’s a whole cultural thing,” said Makhlouf, who came to the U.S. Georges Makhlouf, who started Providence Byblos on the East Side in 2005, said there’s nothing wrong with Sullivan’s offering hookahs to its customers.īut, he added, it’s not the true hookah experience.

“There’s enough business for everybody,” said owner Eli Yazbeck. One of them, Skarr Hookah Lounge Bar & Grille at 292 Atwells Ave., opened just three weeks ago. Instead of burning out, the fad appears to have grown increasingly popular, with a half-dozen hookah lounges on Federal Hill alone. Hookah lounges arrived in Rhode Island in 2005. Hookahs, which are usually filled with flavored tobacco, have been around for centuries, beginning in India and migrating to the Arab world, where they became part of the café culture. … It’s one more thing to offer that you wouldn’t normally find in an Irish sports bar.” “We have a clientele we haven’t seen before. “It’s definitely helped our business on slow nights,” he said. Rizzo said it’s all about bringing in business during tough times. Inside, owner Mike Rizzo said he introduced hookahs, the ornate water pipes of Mideastern origin, about three weeks ago, filling them with a flavored non-tobacco product from a company called Zero Tobacco LLC. In a separate incident, around 1:45 a.m., a 21-year-old man was walking in the area of Academy and Atwells Avenue when he was stabbed.The sign outside of Sullivan’s Rhode, a bar and restaurant at 55 Union St., reads “WE HAVE HOOKAH.”

Providence City Councilman David Salvatore I am committed to working with my colleagues at both the state and local level to help address these serious quality of life issues. These acts of violence are systemic, and we as elected leaders need to address the underlying issues that plague our community. Violence is never the answer, and I’m deeply concerned that so many of our young people are resorting to these strategies to deal with their differences. I am also calling on the Board of Licenses to work with club owners across Providence and the City Council to employ strategies that proactively prevent these seemingly frequent incidents. I’m calling on my colleagues to revisit the City Council’s 2012 strategy and the Pine Report to ensure that we are working in the best interest of our constituents when it comes to their safety. Every time an act of violence occurs inside or outside of a nightclub, public safety resources are diverted from every neighborhood in Providence leaving communities susceptible to other acts of crime. We are facing crisis’ on multiple fronts our schools, affordable housing, and the seemingly uptick in violence centered around our nightclub culture.Īs we grow as a City, it’s time for us to revisit our culture around nightlife and public safety.

We are at inflection point in Providence, as we grow as a City. Providence City Councilman David Salvatore released the following statement in response to the acts of violence at city nightclubs: He was charged with simple assault and disorderly conduct and is expected in court next week. Police were able to track the vehicle down and arrest the suspect, identified as Mark Daniel, 31.

Hookah lounge rhode island