Councilman seeks change to hookah bar liquor license rule

LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — A Nebraska city councilman says an ordinance that forces the Muslim owners of a new hookah lounge to serve alcohol in violation of their faith must change.

The ordinance requires businesses in Lincoln that allow smoking indoors to have a liquor license. Those businesses must stock and serve booze.

The Lincoln Journal-Star reports that Councilman Roy Christensen has been working with city lawyers to write a new ordinance that would allow businesses like 88 Hookah Lounge to operate in compliance with the owners’ faith and local rules.

Cigar bars are legal in Nebraska under the state’s Clean Indoor Air Act as long as they do not sell anything else. City Attorney Jeff Kirkpatrick says the difficulty will be drafting a law that allows the hookah lounge to serve non-alcoholic beverages.

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Information from: Lincoln Journal Star, http://www.journalstar.com

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