Hookah bar denied license
What’s new: By denying the liquor license application Tuesday of Oasis Hookah Bar, 315 S. 16th St., Omaha’s City Council gave the owners time to get their landlord’s consent before they go before the State Liquor Control Commission in May.
The details: Co-owner Jesse Hill has applied for a liquor license so he can sell non-alcoholic drinks at his hookah bar, which offers special tobacco to be smoked on-site using a large water pipe. Because of the state anti-smoking law, he needs a Class C liquor license to sell even pop. But before he can get a liquor license for a business that allows smoking, it must first be classified as a cigar bar. The landlord of the building where the business operates had threatened to cancel the bar’s lease if the business serves alcohol. Hill agreed to restrict sales to only non-alcoholic beverages if the license is approved at the state level.
What’s next: Hill hopes to get approval from his landlord for the conditional liquor license, and then the City Council may recommend passage.