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Hookahs, patio bars — St. Paul city council is skeptical  

Smoking from hookahs and drinking outside were both given a skeptical eye by the St. Paul City Council on Wednesday, in part because of the crowds they can attract.

The city council introduced an interim ordinance spelling out details of a one-year moratorium on hookah lounges -- tobacco shops that allow customers to "sample" types of tobacco by hanging out and smoking it, indoors, from Middle Eastern hookahs. Hookahs are a type of water pipe.

Separately, council member Dave Thune recommended overruling a neighborhood council and city staff recommendation to allow the Wild Onion bar and restaurant on Grand Avenue to serve alcohol on its outdoor patio.

Hookah lounges, which have operated on the fringes in big cities for decades, have recently trended up in popularity in the Midwest, including Minneapolis and St. Paul, which have had several open in the past year.

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