Laserfiche WebLink
„�,`� Rapid City <br /> iouma <br /> Neighbors blast 'stinky hookah smell' <br /> APRIL 12,2012 6:30 AM • BARBARA SODERLIN JOURNAL STAFF <br /> Tenants of the Buell Building in downtown Rapid City are upset with their <br /> landlord for leasing space to two hookah lounges that they say are filling the <br /> building with the sweet-smelling smoke. <br /> "I thought the building was on fire, it smelled so bad,” said Susan Grubl, who <br /> has posted a sign on the door of her Merle Norman cosmetics shop that says <br /> "Closed due to stinky hookah smell." <br /> "I feel like I'm suffering," Grubl said. "I don't feel like I should open my business <br /> while I can't stand to stay there. How can I expect my customers to be there?" <br /> Two hookah lounges, Classified Hookah and Sahara Nights, opened in the <br /> building in the past month, attracting young adults who hang out in the <br /> evenings and smoke shisha tobacco out of hookah water pipes. <br /> While the lounges are busiest on Friday and Saturday nights, the smell lingers <br /> and is there on Monday morning when the shops open for business. Besides <br /> Merle Norman, tenants include an attorney, artists, massage studios, a hair <br /> salon, a weight loss coach and several marketing firms. <br /> Grubl took her complaint to the mayor's office and her Florida-based landlord <br /> and said if nothing changes, she will find another place to do business. <br /> Building owner Ron Bazac, who lives in the Miami area, said Wednesday that he is working on the problem, but it will take <br /> time. <br /> "This is not something I can fix right away," he said. "This is something I need to do the proper way. I just hope everybody <br /> will be patient and everything will be solved in the end." <br /> Bazac said he contacted the lounge owners and told them to install ventilation systems. <br />