Downtown hookah lounge asks to host live entertainment

Hookah Hub is seeking a permit to host live entertainment. Interior photo by City of Downey

DOWNEY -- A downtown hookah lounge is seeking a live entertainment permit from the City of Downey so it can host live bands and DJs. 

Hookah Hub, located at 8323 Firestone Blvd., is a smoking lounge exclusively for hookah pipes. The 2,720 sq. ft. storefront was previously the Hookah Time Lounge until it was taken over by current owner Emad Hanna last year. 

Under Hanna's proposal, Hookah Hub would be allowed to host live and amplified music -- along with dancing -- from 9 p.m. to 1 a.m. Sunday through Thursday, and until 1:30 a.m. Friday and Saturday. 

If the application is approved, the hookah lounge would install a 12 ft. by 15 ft. dance floor, and a separate area for bands and a DJ. 

City planners endorsed the application, noting that live entertainment would help draw customers to Downey's downtown. 

"[Allowing] live entertainment will attract patrons to the Firestone Boulevard Gateway District, which is consistent with other downtown businesses," assistant city planner Kevin Nguyen wrote in a report to the Planning Commission, which will make a final determination on the application Wednesday.

"However, to avoid future noise problems, staff has recommended a condition requiring that all entry and exit doors to and from the business shall remain closed during the hours when live entertainment is permitted." 

Wednesday's Planning Commission meeting begins at 6:30 p.m.