How do I find a hookah lounge for sale?

Hookah lounges are a small corner of the market, and few are advertised under one tidy label. Many owners sell quietly, because staff and regulars notice a for-sale sign long before a buyer does. So a search that stops at one listing site will miss most of what exists. The steps below widen the net without wasting your time on places that were never going to sell.

Search under every name the business uses

The same kind of business turns up as a hookah lounge, a shisha lounge, a shisha café, a narghile bar, or a café, restaurant or late-night dessert spot that happens to offer shisha. Run each phrase on its own, and add the city or neighbourhood you want. Read a listing’s description closely, since the lounge side of the business is sometimes mentioned in a single line.

Set alerts and check back

Save your searches on the listing sites and turn on email alerts, so a new lounge reaches you the day it is posted. Listings in this niche are few. Keep a short list of what you will accept in a location and a layout, so you can decide on a listing fast rather than start from scratch each time.

Ask the people who hear first

• Shisha tobacco, charcoal and hookah equipment suppliers, who know which lounges are slowing down or changing hands
• Landlords and property managers who lease to hospitality tenants
• Accountants and bookkeepers who work with restaurant and café owners
• Other lounge owners, who may know a colleague ready to step back

Approach an owner directly, and ask who a broker acts for

If a lounge you like is not listed, a short, private note to the owner is reasonable. Say who you are and that you are interested in buying, and offer to keep it confidential. When a broker is involved, ask early whom they act for. Our answer on how to find a bar or pub for sale covers similar steps for licensed venues.

Check local smoking rules before you look further

Rules on smoking and shisha indoors differ by province and city, and some places do not allow a lounge of this kind at all. Before you spend time on a listing, ask the city and a lawyer whether the lounge can keep operating as it does today at that address.