Going against the grain has its perks – something Shokooh Mostafaie, 52, knows first hand.
Mostafaie is the owner of Cinnamon Café, a new coffee shop on King Street in Fredericton’s downtown center. At first glance, the café seems like an ordinary place where people gather to drink tea, nibble on snacks, and talk about their day.
But it has another element.
In addition to Persian Tea and baked goods, the Cinnamon Café has something that sets it apart from other cafés in the city: a hookah lounge.
“I didn’t expect business to go well because there are a lot of other coffee shops around,” Mostafaie said. “But business has been very good.”
The owner, previously a dentist for 28 years in her native country of Iran, thinks access to the hookah lounge is what attracts many customers to her business.
A hookah is a traditional Middle Eastern water pipe used to smoke flavoured tobacco. It is made of three layers of decorated glass. Heated charcoals are placed on top of the bowl containing the tobacco, creating smoke that travels from the water-filled chamber to the smoker’s mouth.
Mostafaie has noticed her customers use the hookahs as they socialize.
“It’s fun for them,” she says “young and older customers love my service and my location.”
But smoking tobacco is not as popular in New Brunswick as it once was. In October of 2004, the provincial government banned smoking in public spaces and workplaces.
That’s why Mostafaie had to take certain precautions in order to open her café.
“We have a license, but it was very difficult to get,” she said.
For many, the thought of smoking indoors seems distasteful. But the tobacco smoked out of hookahs in Mostafaie’s shop is not the same tobacco that is used in cigarettes.
“Our tobacco doesn’t contain nicotine like cigarettes. It’s flavoured, herbal tobacco,” she said.
No nicotine means the tobacco smoked in the Cinnamon Café is non-addictive.
Mostafaie’s business is the first of its kind in Fredericton. She thinks her café will draw in curious customers who want to experience an interesting aspect of Middle Eastern culture.
Customers may choose from eight flavours of herbal tobacco, order a hookah along with their tea or cookie, and enjoy the comfortable atmosphere the café has to offer.
The cost of a hookah is $9, a price the storeowner thinks is affordable for her customers.
“$9 between three people is only $3 each,” she said. “It is a good price for our customers, and for us too.”
Tyler Mullin, 19, and Ian MacIsaac, 21, two first-time customers, think smoking a hookah while sipping on Persian Tea is a very enjoyable experience.
“It’s very relaxing,” Mullin said.
The storeowner’s son, Mehdi Mostafaie, 19, agrees that smoking out of a hookah is pleasant experience, and says people do it for different reasons.
“It is a social thing,” he said. “And for Middle Eastern people, it is a cultural thing.”
In his native country of Iran, Mostafaie says smoking a hookah is very common for people of all ages.
Shokooh Mostafaie, however, has placed an age restriction on the hookahs in her café. Customers below 16 years of age may enjoy the atmosphere of the lounge and purchase beverages and snacks, but are not permitted to purchase tobacco.
Although she will not sell tobacco to younger children, Mostafaie says she enjoys the age of her customers.
Many adult customers will sit in the front section of the café, which is smoke free. The back section, or hookah lounge, contains some smoke, but is moderated by a powerful ventilation system that purifies the air every few seconds. This is where most of the younger customers typically sit.
Mostafaie likes that her café is a comfortable place for her customers, and enjoys greeting the friendly faces as they come to experience what she has to offer.
“I love all of the young customers like my two boys,” she said.
She is pleased with the reception her business has had locally, and is excited that her idea has sparked interest in Fredericton.
Pioneering a new idea is a difficult thing, but Shokooh Mostafaie is satisfied with her café’s success since its opening last month.
“Anything you want to do, you can do,” she said.
Johnny Cullen 