Several community members overwhelmingly encouraged the Montgomery County Council on Tuesday to pass a bill that would restrict late-night business hours for hookah lounges and tobacco and vape shops, but owners of these establishments say hookah lounges are not hotbeds of crime.
Stephanie Helsing, CEO and president of the Greater Silver Spring Chamber of Commerce, said during a public hearing that the newly proposed legislation is needed to protect the well-being of the downtown Silver Spring area.
“Enough is enough … it has become undeniable that the unregulated times during which these establishments are open continue to wreak havoc on our community and [the] reputation of Silver Spring,” she said.
But hookah bar owners argued that their establishments are not the source of rising crime.
“This is an act of targeted racism on minority business owners. The purpose [of hookah] is to celebrate our rich Ethiopian culture,” said Ahmed Kamal, owner of a hookah lounge in downtown Silver Spring. “It does not get you high, it does not get you drunk, it is a relaxing social event. It has nothing to do with the crime in Silver Spring.”
Hookah is a type of tobacco placed in a special bowl with water and smoked with a flexible tube. It is popular in middle eastern countries.
Kamal also noted that county regulations prohibit hookah lounges from selling alcohol, cannabis or other drugs.
If passed, the bill would require hookah lounges and other businesses that serve tobacco to close at 2 a.m. on weekdays and 3 a.m. on weekends. The legislation is intended to align the late-night business hours of establishments that serve and sell tobacco and hookah with establishments that serve and sell alcohol.
Under current county law, businesses that serve or sell alcohol must close by 2 a.m. on weekdays and 3 a.m. on weekends, but there is no restriction on the hours of businesses that serve or sell tobacco.
The legislation is sponsored by Council Vice President Kate Stewart (D-Dist. 4) and councilmembers Gabe Albornoz (D-At-large) and Evan Glass (D-At-large). County Executive Marc Elrich (D) also supports the bill.
“There has been an increase in calls for service [in downtown Silver Spring], particularly from 2 a.m. to 7 a.m., which has resulted in a drastic increase in the need for police presence in our central business districts at this time, and excess overtime expenditures,” Stewart said when introducing the bill last month.
The bill builds off a law passed in May 2023 requiring county businesses open after 2 a.m. that sell alcohol or tobacco to develop late-night safety plans. That legislation was a response to a rise in late-night crime in downtown Silver Spring and other areas throughout the county.
According to a memorandum from Elrich, many businesses have worked collaboratively with county police to enact safety measures, but others have been less cooperative. The 2023 law was enacted to ensure a uniform process for all late-night businesses.
During Tuesday’s hearing, residents of downtown Silver Spring voiced support for the legislation.
“I don’t want downtown Silver Spring to become the place where you go if you want to party after two o’clock in the morning,” resident Joan Susie told the council.
Resident Kathy Stevens said she supports the bill because she believes crime that is occurring late at night is in part a result of late-night business hours.
“Business owners do not want the crime, renters do not want the crime. Homeowners do not want the crime, visitors do not want the crime, morning people do not want the crime, night people do not want the crime,” she said.
Allan Ebert, who owns Eva Hookah Lounge at 953 Bonifant Street in downtown Silver Spring, asked the council to reconsider the bill, citing financial setbacks from the COVID-19 pandemic and Purple Line construction that hookah lounge owners have faced. The Purple Line, under construction and expected to be completed in 2027, is a 16.2 light-rail line that will run from Bethesda to New Carrollton.
“There have not been incidents of any violence or fights within the lounges themselves,” Ebert said. “And we are struggling.”
A vote on the bill has not been scheduled.