 "Photo: Rami Rotlewicz")
There’s a new late night pastime in town.
The hookah craze is in full effect, with students frequenting hookah bars like Meridian and King Tut’s, as well as possessing their own.
Located off South Alafaya and North Alafaya respectively, both places have become the go-to bars for the hookah smoking experience.
Cari Favaro and Jared Blydenburgh are both servers at Meridian.
Favaro, a senior biology major, has worked at Meridian since June 2009 and says the best part of hookah is that it brings people together.
“Its very social,” she said. “It’s a great atmosphere, you can share a hose and have a good conversation.”
Blydenburgh, a junior business major, agrees.
“It’s a good thing to do when you’re just hanging out with friends,” Blydenburgh said. “We’re doing a social service.”
The act of smoking hookah has been around since the 1500s. The hookah itself is a single- or multi-hose instrument in which tobacco is cooled and filtered by passing through water. Originating in what is now Nepal and India, the hookah amassed massive popularity in the Middle East. In the United States, its popularity began in early 2000, with many hookah bars opening in areas with large Middle Eastern communities as well as near college campuses.
King Tut’s is a hookah bar that provides patrons with the Middle East look and feel when smoking hookah.
Kevin Wright, a manager at King Tut’s, says one of the bar’s strong suits is the fact that everything is authentic, with everything from the hookahs to the music coming straight from Egypt.
Although it’s been open for only two years, King Tut’s hookah lounge offers the chance to experience smoking hookah in flavors like cantaloupe and macchiato.
The bar features belly dancers on Fridays and sells alcohol, café-style desserts and non-alcoholic beverages.
Meridian was the first bar to open near UCF in late 2007, following a sister bar in Tampa that had been operating since 2004.
Offering flavors that range from watermelon to pomegranate with special mixes made upon request, Meridian has an all-you-can smoke policy for the base price of $11 with a student or military ID.
With dimly lit lights, comfy couches and a continuous indie music playlist that flows throughout the room, the atmosphere that Meridian provides is one that is conducive to meeting people and fostering friendships.
In addition to its hookah, Meridian also offers open jam nights on Saturdays where people can perform for other customers. Poets, musicians and comedians have all graced the small stage.
Meridian is strictly a hookah bar, serving no alcohol or food except a selection of soft drinks and juices for its customers.
Brett Kolb started going to Meridian nearly eight months ago and has been smoking hookah for three years.
After doing research on the practice, Kolb decided to start smoking hookah as a way to calm his nerves in high school.
The freshman marketing major said that smoking hookah often gets a bad reputation.
“[The reputation is] a lot worse than it actually is” Kolb said.
According to Kolb, there is very little nicotine and the the tobacco that is used is natutally grown.
Kolb said he likes to go to Meridian because it’s a place where he can relax.
“It’s a serene environment where you can just come to escape,” Kolb said. “I come here to forget.”
Alex Martini, a senior business management major and manager at Meridian, has been smoking hookah for four years and said that hookah offers people an alternative to the bars and regular UCF nightlife.
“I think it’s a combination of the atmosphere and the employees [why people come to Meridian]” Martini said. “We have a wide variety of people. The vast majority are college students, but we also get older people and high school seniors who want to try it for the first time.”
Still, many of the people are repeat customers who come in three to four times a week.
“We specialize in making people happy,” Favaro said.
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