Welcome To The Shishah Café
By Matthew Toledo - 4/14/2006
Shishah Café is Athens' newest and most intriguing musical establishment. Located in the alley next to Word's Best Bagels, this first class café serves coffee, tea and pan-Arabian cuisine. The brainchild of Ryland Burhans, this cozy venue takes advantage of the latest fad to hit the east and west coasts--Shishah is Athens' first hookah bar. More on exactly what that is later.
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Ryland Burhans decided that college was not for him so he used the money that was set aside for his college career to open the Shishah Café. However, he needed partners in his endeavor. Enter Ryland's parents, Hilarie and Mark Burhans of the nationally known Hot Point String Band. His parents, who are a little squeamish on the concept of selling tobacco, decided to augment their son's business plan by including a café and music venue that caters primarily to jazz and acoustic based acts. It's also a fall-back plan should the upcoming statewide smoking ban prove fatal to the hookah portion of the venture.
I have never partaken of a Hookah before, so I asked Mark how it works. He reached behind the counter of the bar and pulled out a few tubs of tobacco mixed with various fruits and spices. He let me smell a rose mixture, a mango and molasses mixture that smelled like candy, and a few others with exotic names. The smokable mixtures almost look edible. Only die-hard dippers would ever try to dig into the tub with a spoon since it contains 20% pure tobacco. The mixture, called Shishah--the establishment is named after it, is put into something that looks like a juice glass or mini-gauntlet. Foil is placed over the glass, holes are poked into the foil with a fork, and a red hot coal made from lemonwood is placed on top of the foil. All of this goes into a giant glass hookah. When a patron inhales from one of several hoses attached to the hookah, air flows over the coal which vaporizes the Shishah mixture.
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"It’s a really mild smoke," said Mark who went on to explain that unlike cigarettes, "with that smell that gets into every pore of every object and person in the room, Hookahs really don't stink. There is one going right now in the corner." I turned to look, and he was right. I hadn't even noticed any foul smells. There are none. "People don't realize that you can eat a meal right next to someone smoking a hookah and not be bothered with a foul smell or smoke." Mark went on to point out the over-sized air ducts and large air filter on the ceilings, which are very tall. He also went on to stress that smoking Shishah is no less unsafe than smoking any other form of tobacco.
Even though hookahs are generally non-offensive tobacco smoking devices, 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. is a hookah-free lunch time every Monday through Friday. Shishah opens on Saturdays at 2 p.m. and is closed on Sundays. The cafe portion of the club is open until 2 a.m Monday through Saturday, a fact that may make Shishah one of the best places to take care of your late night munchies with a round of Mezze after a night of drinking. However, the high-class atmosphere of the place means that you don't want to stumble in. It's the sort of place where you would like to dress up a little. I severely doubt rowdiness would be tolerated. There is no alcohol liscence for Shishah, so drinks are strictly coffee and tea.
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Monday nights are jazz nights at the Café. A featured artist will play most of the night. Afterwards, other jazz musicians in the audience are encouraged to jam until closing at 2AM. Mark Burhans' other band, The Underground Jazz Quartet, is the unofficial house band of Shishah. They are scheduled to play at least one Monday per month. This Monday you can see local jazz guitarist and guitar instructor John Horne. Acts generally start at 8:00 PM.
Tuesday nights is live middle-eastern music night, complete with belly dancers. Oddly enough, Athens has quite a few belly dancers thanks to the belly dancing classes at The Wire and Hocking College. Ellie Olin, the wife of an ex-coworker of mine, is known as one of the best belly dancers in town and you can see her perform with her troupe at least once a month.
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Wednesday is open stage night. There is no signup list for the evening. It's a first come, first serve affair hosted by Gallen Mullins and Ryland Burhans, who in addition to being a co-owner of the café, is also the "night manager" according to his father Mark Burhans. The room lends itself best to acoustic acts and there is a upright piano on stage. "The felts are going to be replaced soon," commented Hilarie.
Thursday through Saturday is generally reserved for booked acts. "The place is usually packed on weekends," said Mark. There is rarely a cover unless they book someone that needs more than the venue can offer in the way of a guarantee.
Shishah also has wireless access. So feel free to bring in your laptop.
Shishah is a welcomed addition to the local music and dining scene. They provide a unique atmosphere that is usually only be found in larger cites and their love of and focus on jazz means that local jazz musicians finally have a venue that they can call their own. Stop by Shishahs soon, it will be worth the trip and the effort to find it.
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