Kitchener business finds loophole in local smoking legislation

A Kitchener restaurant is allowing customers to light up. But the owner of the Arabesque Cafe on Victoria Street insists he is not breaking the region’s strict smoking bylaw. Nick al Hares says people who visit his restaurant are afforded the opportunity to smoke an herbal product called “shisha” from a “hookah,” which is like a water pipe. The product, which al Hares says is tobacco-free, is placed in a head on top of the pipe and then burned through a piece of charcoal.

al Hares tells 570 News he manufactures the shisha himself so he can ensure its quality, adding that it is further tested by a professional laboratory approved by the Ministry of Health. He says he always intended to offer shisha as part of his operation and installed an air filtering system to prevent the smoke from bothering other patrons. al Hares says the hookah is most often smoked in the evening and he tries very hard to maintain a family-friendly atmosphere.

al Hares says the idea is borrowed from Middle Eastern tradition where a number of such cafes operate. There, al Hares says, it is a ’round-the-clock habit that is not limited to certain times of the day as it is at his restaurant. In the nine months he’s been operating, al Hares says he’s had two complaints. In both cases, he says the complaints came during the lunch hour from parents of very young babies. al Hares says once he explained that it was uncommon for the smoke to be in the restaurant during the day, the customers were satisfied.

Hookah bars are a growing business in Ontario, especially in Toronto. al Hares says his own product is of such a high quality that other establishments have been purchasing it in bulk from him. He says he has more than ten contracts across the province already, including clients in Windsor, Hamilton, Mississauga and Toronto. Those clients include cafes and convenience stores and al Hares says he hopes to expand that business.

al Hares says he places a strong emphasis on being a family-run business and does not want to become a “hangout” so he will only allow people over the age of 19 to order shisha. al Hares says herbal shisha could be served to someone of any age because it does not have tobacco but he says his menu clearly states that you must be 19 to order it.