Temperatures outside are regularly below freezing, but Oasis Hookah Lounge is just starting to heat up.

The downtown Omaha establishment is filling a void in the city as the only indoor hookah bar in town. Co-owner Jesse Hill, a 2009 Creighton alumnus, says the lounge is regularly reaching capacity on weekends as groups of hookah fans flock to the bar.

“Hookah is more of a community type of event,” Hill said. “You usually don’t smoke it by yourself; you usually smoke it with a group of your friends. Our philosophy is to come out, socialize and be amongst other people just enjoying the culture – enjoying the hookah.”

Smoking in Omaha has been under attack in recent years. Creighton became a smoke-free campus in the summer of 2008. In 2009, the Nebraska Legislature passed a statewide smoking ban in all public places and most businesses. Almost all bars and restaurants have prohibited smoking inside their premises according to the law known as the Nebraska Clean Indoor Air Act. But Oasis, which opened July 16, 2010, operates under the “tobacco-only retailers” clause, allowing its customers to

smoke indoors.

Hill got the idea for starting the lounge while working in the U.S. Virgin Islands where he saw a hookah bar opening. After returning to Omaha, he thought about opening his own in town. He partnered with Richard Berg, of Lebanese decent, a hookah-smoking culture. The two meshed ideas together, and it took a couple months to get the bar started.

“Right now our main demographic is under 21,” Hill said. “There aren’t a lot of places for people under 21 to go in Omaha. If you’re tired of partying in the dorm rooms or if you’re tired of going to house parties, there’s not a lot of places you can go. So Oasis is the best alternative for that.”

Hill said the most satisfying aspect of owning Oasis Hookah Lounge is witnessing the pleasure of his patrons.

“I love just walking in, especially weekends when it’s packed, seeing people enjoying themselves, seeing the place filled to capacity, knowing that I brought something that a lot of people enjoy.”

One of those patrons was Arts & Sciences senior Cheryl Ligon. She enjoyed the interior arrangement of the place.

“I thought the establishment was really well set up,” Ligon said. “Very comfortable and plently of space between

sitting areas.”

“I felt like the crowd was very young people though,”

she added.

Oasis prides itself in having many different flavors of shisa, or flavored tobacco, including berry, bubblegum, chocolate, cherry, vanilla, guava and watermelon.

“What separates Oasis from a lot of other hookah bars or anything else really in Omaha is that we have a lot of different combinations for it,” Hill said. We have a lot of add-ons that you can put onto your hookah. Just with our basic ones, and with the add-ons there’s easily over 100 different flavors you can make with what we have to offer. We just offer a lot of different varieties as far as flavors go.”

The lounge’s best-selling flavor of shisha is strawberry margarita.

“It’s delicious. That’s the only way to describe it. We’re almost out of it right now,” Hill said. “We get a couple of tubs of it in but it flies off the shelf really quickly.”

Watermelon, guava and mango are other favorites. Oasis imports their shisha from specialty vendors across the nation such as Al Fakher in California and Al Amir in

Dearborn, Mich.

For those cautious about smoking shisha, Hill said hookah is quite safe when compared with other drugs.

“Hookah won’t hurt you,” Hill said. “Hookah won’t get you addicted. Anything done in moderation is OK. So if you come in here two months straight smoking hookah, you might want to ease off. But if it’s your first time doing it, it won’t impair your driving; it won’t impair your judgment.

“It will get you relaxed, though,” Hill continued. “It will let you have a nice time. If you need a study break, some place really good to go is here. If you just want to kick back with friends, a good place to go is here. For a first date, a good place to go is here just because it’s a different environment that no one else really has in Omaha. So if you’ve never tried it, you should try it.”

The most difficult part of opening the lounge were the initial stages, Hill said. Not having an M.B.A. and starting a business was a completely new venture for the Oasis owners.

The owners decided to open their hookah lounge downtown, at 315 S. 16th St., in the former Edible Delights store space and next to King Fong Chinese Café. Hill said the surrounding area appealed to them.

“It was right in the mix of what’s going on downtown. We’ve got a bar across the street, a lot of apartments nearby, so it’s a pretty accessible location.”

Hill said the lounge is in the process of applying for a liquor license and is hoping to offer alcoholic beverages to customers by March.

“Right now Oasis is sort of pigeon-holed by the city. We can’t sell juice or coffee. That is why we give it away now.”

Once the lounge receives a cigar-bar license, it would be able to sell non-tobacco items. Hill expects growth in the months after getting the license, as well as opening the outdoor patio in the summer and adding to its indoor décor.

Go to vimeo.com/Creightonian to see a video interview with Hill, explaining the anatomy of a hookah pipe.