We’re not really in the business of telling you to go out and do something unhealthy or dangerous. After all, you are our readership, and without you we wouldn’t have jobs.
But there are plenty of things that are either unhealthy or even dangerous that people do every day by choice. Think of construction workers, miners, oil drillers, jay-walkers.
And smokers.
Now we all know smoking is unhealthy, but it is legal (if you’re of age, of course) and millions of people do it every day. And, downtown Concord happens to have a few places that cater to those who smoke – and one place caters to those who want to quit.
We went out last week and got all the details from three prominent downtown businesses that work with inhalables.
If you already partake, then “smoke if you got ’em.” If you don’t, we’re certainly not recommending you go out and try it for the first time.
Chi Cha Hookah Bar
This is the newest of the three businesses featured here. The hookah bar/smoking lounge/billiard hall/cafe/bar on Pleasant Street Extension opened in May, and it’s gradually picked up in popularity since then, said manager Karl Horner.
The main attractions here – obviously – are the hookahs. If you’re not familiar, they’re basically giant pipes that filter smoke through water, which is inhaled through a hose. The tobacco used in hookahs is nothing like cigarette or cigar tobacco; this stuff is very moist and comes in dozens of flavors like mango, grape, coffee or almost anything else you can think of.
Chi Cha has more than 55 flavors, and customers can mix whatever flavors together they want, so the possibilities are almost endless. Hookahs at Chi Cha come in one-, two-, three- and four-hose varieties to accommodate parties of different sizes.
Given that it’s a hookah lounge, you’re of course allowed to smoke hookah inside. You can also puff a cigar if you’d like (they sell those there, too) or take a drag from your vaporizer (they also sell vaporizer liquid). “We just don’t allow cigarettes,” Horner said.
It’s a full-service establishment, meaning all you have to do is look at a menu and place an order like you would at a restaurant, and the staff will bring out the hookah and tobacco and even light it for you (that part has to do with liability).
While you’re there, you can order a drink from the full bar (or get a coffee), watch some TV or play some pool – for free. No need to bring $9 in quarters to get a game in.
Sometimes there’s even a DJ spinning bumpin’ tunes to dance to. Chi Cha hosts various themed nights as well – they just held Bosnian Night last weekend.
“We were entertaining the idea on starting an open mic night here, but I’m not sure how much of a calling that would have,” Horner said.
But the crowd at Chi Cha is a little different from the typical bar scene, Horner said. Most of the time, people just come in to sit down in one of the many big, cushy chairs, smoke some hookah and relax.
Chi Cha Hookah Bar is open weekend nights until (gasp) 2 a.m. That’s right, we found a place in Concord open late that’s not called McDonald’s or Dunkin’ Donuts.
To find out more, call 470-3310 or go to facebook.com/ChiChaHookah.
Castro’s Back Room
Castro’s Back Room is considerably more established than Chi Cha – it’s been in business for 20 years and has four locations (Concord, Manchester, Nashua and Bedford). You’d probably recognize the Depot Street shop by the sign featuring a Fidel Castro-looking guy with a big cigar in his mouth.
Castro’s specializes in fine tobacco cigars and pipe tobacco. You can get a few kinds of cigarettes here too, but it’s really all about the cigars – the place has about 13,000 to choose from.
Like Chi Cha, Castro’s is a place to hang out as well as purchase, said manager Jordan Meher.
“It’s really got a nice ambiance in here,” Meher said. “It’s very old, but it’s very relaxing.”
The lounge has a rustic feel, with soft lighting and loads of vintage cigar-related signs and ads all over the place. If you look around long enough, you’ll find some very unprintable but totally awesome gems on the walls.
There’s a pool table, a card table and a (badly out-of-tune) piano in the back room, and there’s a new wooden chess table up front. And, of course, those lush couches and chairs as soon as you walk in, aimed right at the nice big TV.
The typical Castro’s patron is one who just got out of work and just wants to unwind a little bit with a nice cigar and some good company. You’re welcome to plop down on one of the comfy couches or chairs, throw on the game and just let your hair down a little. (But not too much – that could be a fire hazard.)
Now you might be thinking that a cigar shop is a place only meant for people who look like the Monopoly guy. Not so, said Meher.
“One of the great things is that you can have a millionaire lawyer come in as well as a guy barely scraping by,” he said.
In other words, it doesn’t matter whether you’re the governor or the person who mows her lawn, whether you’re buying a $20 stick or a $4 one – everyone is the same in here.
Castro’s is open Monday through Saturday. For more information, call 225-6522 or search for Castro’s Back Room on Facebook (the company’s main website, castros.com, is currently under construction).
SubStyle Vapors
Not everybody smokes. And some smokers wish they didn’t, but quitting smoking has been proven to be one of the hardest things for human beings to do.
But there’s a place right on North Main Street that wants to help you kick the habit once and for all.
It’s called SubStyle Vapors, and it’s another relatively new shop in town.
It’s a store where you can get everything you need to start vaporizing – or “vaping” – and stop smoking.
Vaping is a term that describes heating a liquid to the point of vaporization and inhaling the vapor. In this context, we’re talking about vaporizing nicotine.
The idea is that a user can replace the harsh chemicals that are products of combustion (smoking) with a much smaller ingredient list usually consisting of vegetable glycerin, propylene glycol, flavoring and nicotine (if you choose – most liquids are available without nicotine).
The shop opened last March (you might recall Monitor reporter Megan Doyle’s feature on the grand opening) and has really taken off since then, said Ryan Smith, one of four co-owners.
“It actually became very successful,” Smith said. “We still have a relatively similar lounge environment from when we opened, and that’s one thing we don’t really want to change.”
Like the other two shops featured here, SubStyle is a hangout spot. Sure, you can buy tons of products here, but the owners want you to hang out and have a good time.
There’s a TV area near the back of the store complete with cushy seating and a Nintendo Wii. Up front, there are a few arcade games and a pinball machine. And that layout is intentional.
Co-owner Alex Moody said the store was designed so that when you walk in, you’re not immediately looking at a sales counter – a trait he said many other vape shops have.
Once you’re all the way inside, you’ll notice several big glass jars full of cigarette packs. The shop started a campaign as soon as they opened: If you turn in your last pack of cigarettes and pledge to quit, you can get hooked up with a free vaporizer starter kit. All they ask is that you buy a bottle of “juice” for as little as $9.
“It was so popular that we just kept it,” Moody said. The owners estimated that they’ve taken hundreds of packs since they opened 11 months ago.
The one-year anniversary of the opening is coming up, and although the exact date isn’t quite set in stone yet, SubStyle is planning something big.
“You won’t even be able to see in here,” due to the throng of people and thick clouds of vapor, Moody said.
If you’re looking to quit the butts but can’t quite go cold-turkey, this is your place.
Call 856-7861 or go to facebook.com/SubStyleVapors for more info.
