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Hookah on the Hill
Smoky Waters Hookah Bar brings the trend to Louis'
. . . by Elizabeth Maple
[Photograph by the author]

Where’s the waitress? You know—the waitress—the one who wears her sweatpants uniform and who, with a smile and weary early-morning eyes, brings over coffee while you wait for your #2 breakfast special to soak up all the grill grease on the other side of the counter?

She’s not there. And on the other side of the counter, hookahs are lined up alongside bottles of wine. The grill’s not turned on, and no one’s reading the morning paper. Everyone sitting down goes to Brown, the lights are off, and you’re going to have to put your name on the list and wait a half hour for a table.

It’s Louis’ and not Louis’ at all. Even though most people have started calling it “the hookah bar at Louis’,” the newest place for Brown kids to blow a Friday night has a name of its own: the Smoky Waters Hookah Bar. Run by Michael Hodor B’05 and Jon Purow B’03, the business opened on February 21 inside the East Side’s legendary greasy spoon, and now from 9 to 1 every night (Mondays excluded), icicle lights dangle over the family photos and faded newspaper clipping on the walls and velvet cloth disguises the tables while Brown students serve up hookahs, drinks and munchies for their classmates.

A business proposition
The idea came together when Hodor and Purow met last year living in Keeney. Purow kept a hookah in his Poland single, and he and Hodor,—who roomed down the hall,—became friends and casually talked about reproducing the chill atmosphere in a full-fledged hookah bar where their friends could hang out. Over the summer, the two kept in touch, the idea snowballed, and a few weeks ago Hodor charged $2,000 to his American Express account.
“I’m still in the very early stage of ‘What the fuck am I doing?’” Hodor said, smiling.

With a credit card debt to cover hookahs, décor, food and alcohol, the entrepreneurial duo needed a place to set up shop. Purow’s connection with Louis’ came into play: he’d been frequenting the brunch joint since his older brother went to Brown, and knew the late Louis as well as the current owner, John Gianfrancesco. He propositioned Gianfrancesco, asking if they could use the space at night after Louis’ closed, and Gianfrancesco graciously agreed. The two struck a deal in which Smokey Waters pays $50 a night for rent and a share of the liquor profits since the diner owns the liquor license.

They rounded up a group of about 15 friends and acquaintances—all Brown students—to staff, cook and wait tables, and hired Darshan Somashekar B’05 as a third manager. In the nearly three weeks since its opening, Smoky Waters has almost paid off Hodor’s credit card bill.

Brown only
The result? Brown students have taken the bait. While not many frequent Smoky Waters on Sundays and weeknights—though Purow said some students have come and brought homework during the week—the place gets so crowded on Friday and Saturday nights that Hodor had to pay a friend $20 to act as a bouncer for a night. Once you manage to get a table, it’s eerie sitting down with a Brown-only crowd smoking uber-trendy hookahs inside the tradition-bound East Side establishment that hasn’t changed in who knows how long. Relics of Loui’s remain intact, but they’re obscured by techno.

But at the same time, it works. Since rumor of its existence has spread through word of mouth, almost everyone is tied to the University—freshmen literally sit next to professors and TAs. The prices aren’t steep (hookahs range from $4 to $12) and Hodor boasted that the $5 pitchers are cheaper than those at Max’s.

For now, Hodor and Purow are moving one step at a time. They haven’t decided if they’ll keep Smoky Waters open for the summer, which will depend largely on how much money the place makes over the next few weeks and if Hodor can stay in Providence. But they have entered the Brown Entrepreneurship Program’s new business plan competition in hopes of taking the $15,000 cash prize, and Hodor talked about his long-term aspirations to expand the bar and move it into a venue of its own.

“It’s all temporary… you know, we still have to go to class,” Hodor said. “For now, I guess it’s Louis’, but it’s nice. It’s different; I like it.”

Louis’ Diner
286 Brook St.
Providence, RI 02912
www.smokywatershookah.com

Elizabeth Maples B’05 often asks herself what the fuck she’s doing.

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