By TAYLOR CASEY
Contributing Writer
On Madison Avenue in Albany, New York, the corner shop that once housed a tanning salon has been renovated and turned into a smoke shop. Owner Tony Sharifipour was able to turn a building covered in graffiti into a bright and new smoking lounge and shop known as the House of Glass.
Sharifipour has been a business owner since the age of 19. After running a pizza shop called Bello Pranzo for seven years and a night club in downtown Albany, he decided it was time to try something different. While in Los Angeles he came across a place known as a vape lounge; this was where people would come in, relax and enjoy the “E-Juice” known as vaping. The store inspired him, and he knew that the next business he wanted to open, would be a vape lounge in Albany.
Vaping, in a sense is just inhaling and exhaling flavored water vapor from an electronic mod that can contain a certain amount of nicotine as chosen by the user. Vape pens and products do not have tobacco and depending on the amount of nicotine, are essentially not as dangerous as cigarettes; therefore many smokers replace cigarettes with vape pens and mods. The usage of vape pens and mods can be a way to continue smoking, but decrease the health risk tobacco has on the body.
Sharifipour opened his shop last month after he found the spot at the intersection of Madison and Ontario, and started renovations back in September of 2015. The shop at 845 Madison Ave met his needs and he was able to get started on his project. After gutting the premises, the construction which happened between September through the end of March transformed the store into a brightly lit and exciting glassware shop. After the building was repurposed, Sharifipour stocked it with multiple hookahs, smoke products and glass pieces. His new business was going to be a glass and smoke shop for vaping and another popular smoking type known as hookah.
Hookah is another type of recreational smoking and has more of a social element to it. It is flavored tobacco and according to Sharifipour, more meditative and relaxing. Most people use hookah if they are looking to cut back on cigarettes. Originally, the shop was going to be a vape lounge, but hookah and other smoke products were eventually added to the stock.
In order to get the shop up and running, it required a lot of research and hard work with the city of Albany. The city did not approve of the House of Glass at first, but after many meetings with supervisors and city officials, it eventually received its certificate of occupancy and does not violate any city laws. After that, Sharifipour then spent hours upon hours researching vaping and hookah and their part in today’s culture.
“Vaping is one of the more trending pastimes,” said Sharifipour. “It has been around for four or five years but it has only become popular in the last two.”
He was interested in the idea, and as part of his research, he looked at many different products to decide which would work best in his shop.
All of the products are made in America and Sharifipour said that the American made products are much more reliable than others. In addition to American made Sharifipour focuses on the price of his products. When researching his other competitors (i.e.: Northern Lights, Escape, 51 Vape and Dab City) in the Albany area, he noticed that many of their products were high in price and the price on something depended on the brand of the product. In House of Glass, the price of hookah glassware range from $20 to $150. Customers can buy a full hookah, or just pieces if someone was looking into repairing one they already owned. Prices are based on the grams of a product rather than its brand name. So he could have the same gram of product for multiple brands and they would all be the same price. His main focus is customer satisfaction; each week he hopes to bring in a new inventory of what people want so that there is always something different in the store.
“I really like the crowd the store has been attracting,” said employee Haley Grimes. Having only been open since March 28, 2016, business has been successful. Grimes herself enjoys the products offered at the House of Glass and said that out of the many places she’s been to, this place is probably best.
“I enjoy the people who come in here and I like helping them out,” said Ryan Unser, another employee in favor of their new workplace. With a large amount of knowledge on vaping and their products, Unser helps run the vape bar in the store. He provides mods for people to use and a large variety of flavors for people to try. At the bar, customers are allowed to taste as many flavors as they choose. The House of Glass is open to anybody over the age of 18, and if you have your student ID, customers can get a 10 percent discount.
Sharifipour hopes that it continues to do well. When asked why he wanted to open a smoke shop, he said “I want kids in the area to have a safe place to hang out and not be out drinking. Here, they can hang out and have fun without hurting themselves.”
