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Board upholds 30‑day suspension of Nile Cafe tobacco permit, rejects owner’s bid to allow non‑tobacco hookah use
Summary
The Board of Appeals upheld a 30‑day suspension of Nile Cafe’s tobacco permit for repeated indoor smoking violations and open tobacco containers, rejecting the proprietor’s argument that glycerin-soaked stones used in hookahs fall outside the smoking ban.
SAN FRANCISCO — The San Francisco Board of Appeals on Sept. 19 upheld a 30‑day suspension of Nile Cafe’s tobacco permit, rejecting the proprietor’s contention that the cafe’s use of glycerin‑soaked stones in hookahs is not covered by the city’s smoking ban.
The proprietor of Nile Cafe, represented by Abraham Mertens, argued the product in use produces a vapor rather than "smoke" and therefore the local ordinance should not apply. Mertens urged the Board to overturn what he called an "overbroad" departmental order.
Department of Public Health (DPH) Senior Inspector Janine Young and Tobacco-Free Project staff told the Board they had documented repeated violations since 2010, including notices to comply and two notices of violation in 2012, and observed open containers of hookah tobacco on site. Young said the cafe is licensed as a restaurant and that state and local law prohibit smoking inside restaurants. "So again, I would just like to make it very clear that this is a restaurant. The state law ... and the local law says that there's no smoking inside of restaurants," Young told the Board.
DPH asked the Board to uphold the 30‑day suspension, arguing the department had tried education and warnings over an extended period. The appellant’s counsel said the legal question over non‑tobacco products could be addressed legislatively, but that the Board should not reverse the order on the record.
Vice President Frank Fung moved to deny the appeal and uphold the suspension on the basis that the ordinance prohibits smoking in restaurants and that DPH’s policy to avoid creating the appearance that smoking is permitted in restaurants was compelling. The Board voted 3–0 to uphold the suspension.
What’s next: The suspension will remain in effect; the cafe may pursue other avenues to seek a change in the ordinance or to submit alternative compliance proposals to DPH after complying with the suspension.
