A smoky haze hung in the air as dance music blared and small groups sat around large glass pipes filled with hookah tobacco during the official grand opening of Six Lounge Hookah & Smoke Shop on Saturday night.
The lounge, located at 400 Albert Ave., opened for business Jan. 23, but held its grand opening this weekend, which featured a disc jockey with dance music and a light show.
Six Lounge sells various types of hookah tobacco for consumption, as well as cigars and other smoking accessories.
The lounge’s tobacco flavors include cantaloupe, cappuccino and bubble gum, among others.
The business also has another location in Mount Pleasant, Mich.
Mechanical engineering sophomore Xauntyse Manning — who attended the grand opening and smoked hookah around a small table with about five or six friends — said he has been frequenting the shop since it opened.
“I really enjoy the atmosphere, the music,” he said.
Manning said so far he has enjoyed going to Six Lounge more than East Lansing’s other hookah lounge, Blue Midnight Hookah Lounge, 330 Albert Ave.
Management from Blue Midnight Hookah Lounge could not be reached for comment at press time Sunday.
Six Lounge General Manager Dan MacKinnon said the opening event was a success given that the business previously had not advertised around town.
“We’ve gotten extremely busy just from people that’ve been coming in every day,” he said. “It’s really just been from word-of-mouth.”
On the lounge’s busiest nights during the past two weeks, MacKinnon said between 200 and 300 people have visited the shop to smoke hookah.
Dansville, Mich., resident Evan Warfle said compared to other hookah lounges he’s been to Six Lounge has better atmosphere and customer service.
“It’s fantastic,” he said. “I heard about this place and came in here with some of my buddies and really liked it.”
MacKinnon said the lounge’s extended hours of operation also have helped them draw in more customers.
The lounge is open from noon to 3 a.m. seven days a week.
Six Lounge generally is busiest between 8 p.m. and 2 a.m., MacKinnon said.
He said the lounge transforms from a casual study and relaxation location during the day into a nightclub once the school day ends.
Most often, people come to the shop in small groups or with friends, MacKinnon said. And even if customers come alone, the atmosphere helps bring them back to the lounge, he said.
“Everyone pretty much comes together,” MacKinnon said.
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