Over the past few years a number of hookah, or sheesha, or narghile, or hubbly bubbly shops, bars and restaurants have been popping up in the Elmwood Village and North Buffalo. These days you don’t have to walk far to find a retailer selling water pipes and the flavored tobaccos that fill them – flavors such as blue surfer, purple savior, queen of sex and tequila.

It’s becoming a very social pastime for a younger generation that sometimes prefers to take a few puffs from a pipe rather than drink a beer. While smoking a little hubbly bubbly is a tradition amongst Middle Easterners, today more and more Americans are finding themselves frequenting sheesha lounges all across the US. The act of smoking with others has become a social alternative that many consider to be part coffee shop and part bar/lounge setting – an experience that is heightened when Bollywood, Punjabi and belly dancers are added to the mix. It might be a trend in American circles, but for Middle Eastern cultures steeped in traditions, it’s here to stay… especially since there is an ever-growing presence of immigrants from Levant living in Buffalo.

According to Habibi Sheesha Lounge (HSL), “HSL is the fastest growing and the [most] happening Sheesha (Hookah) Lounge not only in Buffalo, but in the entire State of New York.” Now the lounge business is coming to Elmwood Avenue, setting up in the former Ambrosia Restaurant space.

It was not long ago that a hookah retailer opened up right across the street… apparently where there is smoke, there is fire. The opening of HSL signals an ongoing change in the cultural makeup of Buffalo, not just on the West Side of the city, but in established commercial districts as well. Hopefully the addition of this new lounge will help to jumpstart this 400-500 stretch of Elmwood that is still suffering at the hands of one articular landlord who continues to bring the neighborhood down by jacking up the lease rates of his buildings (Mode for example).

Looking back to the days of the Masiello administration, this part of Elmwood was also stymied when a few business owners (mostly out of business now), appealed to City Hall to prevent the narrowing of the street and the widening of the sidewalks – a selfish act that still haunts the street. At the time, the delivery businesses were fighting to maintain the double parking that allowed their delivery cars and trucks to pull right up to their operations. If they could have only known that one day there would be bike lanes that would prevent double parking from happening anyways. But I digress.

From the looks of it, HSL will be a club-like lounge, with plenty of colorful action. This is a high profile corner with lots of windows… I hope that they make the best of the setting, in order to create a lively scene on the street.