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Hookah business ignites debate in Girard
By Danny restivo
Girard
Although the sign on her business says “Hookah,” Holly Weber insists there will be no smoking inside.
Weber is owner of Hollywood Ink Tattoos, 38 S. State St. She planned to open a hookah lounge next to her business with several hookahs for people to smoke tobacco.
A hookah is a pipe with a flexible tube that draws smoke through water contained in a bowl.
Weber said she was notified by the Girard Health Department in May that her building was not a “free-standing structure,” so no smoking would be permitted in the building. According to Ohio law, a business that derives 80 percent of its revenue from tobacco and pipes can’t be connected to any other structures.
“We just wanted a place where people could hang out with friends,” she said.
Weber now plans to turn the inside into a juice bar, while hookahs for smoking will be at an outside patio. The change in plans brings little comfort to Girard 4th Ward Councilman Larry Steiner. He heads the safety committee and believes businesses like Weber’s and the Glass House, 16 N. State St., promote a negative image of the city.
Weber has no intention of selling smoking paraphernalia, as the Glass House does.
Nevertheless, Steiner said “I don’t like the idea of either of them in the city.” Steiner said he believes both places promote drug use among youths. He has helped draft a proposal that would keep hookah lounges and smoke shops away from schools or churches.
Girard City Law Director Brian Kren said the city can’t supersede state laws, but city council can limit other shops from opening in the city.
According to the proposal, “no person shall sell, manufacture or distribute recreational smoking paraphernalia as defined in this ordinance in or upon any premises in the city without first obtaining a license co-signed by the Mayor and Safety-Service Director.”
Under the proposal, failure to abide by the ordinance could result in a maximum fine of $500.
“We operate within the confines of the law and we filled a niche in Girard that is needed,” said Glass House employee Melissa Dershaw.
Steiner said he has received support from fellow councilmen on the issue, and he still plans to introduce the ordinance and get it passed into law.
Weber said she has passed all health-code inspections and plans on opening her establishment next weekend. She also plans on attending the next city council meeting at 7 p.m. Sept. 10 in Girard City Hall.