In the process of opening a hookah bar in Wilkes-Barre, 26 year-old Mike Pasquini may have created a new model for entrepreneurship education. While he graduated King’s College with a 3.98 grade-point average, Pasquini never took a business class. He was a near-triple major, however, in philosophy, theology and mass communications.
And while he got plenty of support from family and friends, his major subjects prepared him well: He had a well-thought out idea, maintained a lot of faith, and effectively spread the word. Pasquini’s venture, better known as the Crimson Lion Hookah Lounge, represents Wilkes-Barre’s emergence as a vibrant college town and the growing trend of successful hookah bars popping up near campuses across the state. Located on East South Street a block from Wilkes University and a short walk from King’s on the other side of Public Square, the Crimson Lion has grown wildly popular among students throughout the region–even natives that go to school out of town and return home to the area during breaks.
Since opening in June, the Crimson Lion has become a mainstay for young and creative people. They come for a relaxing atmosphere, to meet new people or old friends, and to share and experience art. And of course, there’s the hookahs: “it’s the opposite of smoking a cigarette,” says Pasquini. “Instead of going outside and isolating yourself, you can sit inside and communicate with one another. It’s a much more enjoyable experience with the tobacco, which is very smooth and relaxing and we have more than 35 flavors.”
Pasquini was working part-time for a non-profit in the city’s Heights section, the Commission for Economic Opportunity, when a friend was visiting from Washington D.C. and asked if there were any hookah lounges in the area. There weren’t, but both immediately thought there should be. After all, they are quiet, edgy and artsy hangouts for the 18-and-over crowd.
Pasquini started researching the idea. He went to Reading, where he found the thriving Pillar Lounge, which had grown so successful in close proximity to Albright College, Alvernia College, Reading Area Community College and Penn State-Berks that the owner opened another in Lancaster near Franklin and Marshall College. It was all the evidence he needed.
The idea took his father, Frank Pasquini, by surprise. Frank served as vice president of development for King’s for 26 years and also led the city’s Downtown Business Association. The Pasquinis, like many, had witnessed the downtown’s demise, with more plywood covering storefronts than clean windows on Main Street. They also saw the recent revitalization, starting with the first joint downtown Barnes & Noble in the country in late 2006, serving both King’s and Wilkes. The RC Wilkes-Barre movie theaters on Northampton Street followed. New restaurants and shops started moving in, the River Common riverfront park was born, and suddenly Wilkes-Barre is a thriving downtown again.
“With the way Wilkes-Barre was revitalizing, there was so much opportunity,” Mike Pasquini says.
Still, father was taken aback by son’s proposal.
“At first, I thought ‘What the hell is a hookah lounge?’ ” remembers Frank Pasquini, whose Italian immigrant family started the city’s first building supplies company in 1921. “But his exhaustive research coupled with his work ethic, commitment and passion for this, I said to my wife, ‘I guess that’s why they make home equity loans.’ We backed him 100 percent.”
Pasquini had help with his business plan from another successful local entrepreneur, Scott Carey, a fellow King’s grad (2009) who has helped create the startup scene developing here with companies like Breaker Boy Drums and School Supply House. Once Pasquni found a location–near the foot of the South Street Bridge–things started moving, but not fast enough. Waiting was the hardest part for Pasquini, to get the proper zoning and licenses from the city and to complete the renovations to the 800 square feet of space (a former tailor’s shop) he was leasing. That also gave him six months to build buzz.
When all the tables were occupied on opening day, Pasquini knew his research was right. When one of the alt-weekly publications in the region put the Crimson Lion on the cover the same week table games began at the nearby Mohegan Sun Casino, Pasquini realized his idea was bigger than just a new business. It was also about being “local.”
Through a coincidence, Pasquini found Tony Sciandra, a Pittston-based roaster and distributor of fine coffee who sells it under the name Caffe Fresco Specialty Coffee Roaster, and serves a variety of specialty flavors, as well as tea. Pasquini recently added new hours from 7:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. Monday through Friday to serve coffee, tea and snacks for the morning rush. The artwork peppered throughout the Crimson Lion is largely from local artists who have become regulars. Scheduled and impromptu jam sessions are becoming more frequent–Tribal Waves, a local world music group complete with didgeridoo, plays the first Tuesday of the month and there’s an open mic night the first Thursday. A friend at Kingtston’s AxelRad Printing provided Crimson Lion coasters for Pasquini.
Then there’s people like Ruperto, who became a regular. The Crimson Lion is closed Sundays, and Pasquini and his closest friends typically hang out there for a bit. When Ruperto was walking by on the sidewalk, Pasquini noticed him and invited him. Pasquini seems to have a lot more friends nowadays.
“A place like this, people want to come in here and relax and sit with friends, grab a board game or a book,” says Pasquini, who opens and works the night shift from 6 p.m.-1 a.m. daily. “It’s the opposite of a loud bar.”
That has translated into success and already has Pasquini thinking about expanding. With school back in session less than a month, the Crimson Lion just had its busiest week and at times, people are waiting 15-30 minutes to get in. Pasquini is considering expanding into a storage room through the back of the building and staying open all day. He’ll continue to add and promote new hookah flavors, and with high quality coffee at competitive prices, success figures to continue to brew for the Crimson Lion.
“I’m encouraged,” says Frank Pasquini. “The infrastructure needed, everything from the new HVAC system to major aesthetic and practical considerations are there. Do I think this is franchise-able in college towns? Count me in.”
Joe Petrucci is managing editor of Keystone Edge. Send feedback here.
To receive Keystone Edge free every week, click here.
Photos:
Local band Eww Yaboo works up an impromptu jam session on the E. South St. sidewalk outside the Crimson Lion Hookah Lounge.
Owner Mike Pasquini works the room from 6 p.m. to 1 a.m. nightly (the Crimson Lion is closed Sunday).
The Crimson Lion offers a wide selection of high quality coffees from local roaster Caffe Fresco and teas, as well as sodas and snacks.