Edgewater Hookah Lounge Shut Down By Police For 2nd Time After Another Shooting (2025)

EDGEWATER — Police ordered the closure of a Far North Side hookah lounge for the second time in less than two years after two people were shot outside the business over the weekend.

Samah Hookah Lounge, 1219 W. Devon Ave., was issued a summary closure Tuesday, according to the Police Department. A summary closure is tool police can use to shut down businesses they believe present a public safety threat.

There are orange signs in the business’s windows reading, “Business Closed by Order of the Superintendent of Police.”

This most recent closure stems from a shooting that took place outside the business Sunday morning.

About 2 a.m. Sunday, police responded to calls of shots fired near Samah Hookah Lounge. Officers found a 29-year-old, whi was shot in his hip and torso and was taken to St. Francis Hospital in fair condition, police said. They also found a 31-year-old man, who was shot in his abdomen and was taken to St. Francis Hospital in good condition.

Witnesses said the shooting resulted from an argument between patrons of the hookah lounge, said Ald. Leni Manaa-Hoppenworth (48th), whose ward includes the business.

This is the second time the business has come under fire from police and city officials.

The first time was July 2023, following a shooting in which a 30-year-old man and 20-year-old woman were walking on the sidewalk in the 1300 block of West Devon Avenue when a black car pulled up and someone inside the car fired shots.

The man was shot 10 times and was killed, police said. The woman was shot in her left leg and was hospitalized.

Samah Hookah Lounge was closed for several months after the first summary closure was ordered, but it reopened in January 2024, according to posts on the business’s social media.

The hookah lounge agreed to a Nuisance Abatement Plan with the city in December 2023 before it reopened, according to a copy of the plan and the Department of Business Affairs and Consumer Protection.

The business agreed to things like closing earlier than usual for the first couple months of reopening, posting signs in the windows discouraging patrons from loitering and making noise when exiting, hiring security guards and limiting BYOB.

The owner of Samah Hookah Lounge couldn’t be reached for comment on the latest forced closure.

To reopen a business after a summary closure is issued, the owner can request a hearing in front of the mayor to dispute that a public safety threat occurred or to argue that operating the business doesn’t pose ongoing safety issues, according to thepolice order.

If the owner doesn’t request a hearing, the business can be closed for up to six months, according to the order.

The area’s public officials don’t want the business to reopen at all.

Samah Hookah Lounge is on the south side of Devon Avenue, which is in Manaa-Hoppenworth’s 48th Ward. The north side of the street is in Ald. Maria Hadden’s 49th Ward.

Manaa-Hoppenworth said in an email to constituents Tuesday she supports the revocation of Samah Hookah Lounge’s business license.

“Public safety is our top priority,” the alderwoman wrote. “Closing the business is a last resort and a necessary step in keeping our neighborhood safe.”

Though the business isn’t in her ward, Hadden said public safety concerns linked to Samah Hookah Lounge affect her constituents and the business shouldn’t be allowed to reopen.

“They have a track record of bad behavior, they are unsafe, they are reckless … and they’re putting people at risk,” the alderwoman said in a statement on social media Monday.

A spokesperson for Business Affairs and Consumer Protection said it’s conducting an investigation “to determine whether license discipline proceedings are necessary,” but didn’t elaborate on what criteria needs to be met in order to revoke a business’s license.

The spokesperson also said the department has received four complaints against Samah Hookah Lounge since 2023, most recently in February.

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