Midtown Sacramento hookah lounge converting to deli, kebab shop with bar to come

Count sharing a hookah as one of the many communal activities made less attractive during the coronavirus pandemic. The Palace Hookah Lounge is hoping food will help bring people in.

Idris Alekozay has applied for city permits to turn his midtown Sacramento hookah lounge at 2321 J St. into a restaurant. Called Havana Deli, its menu will largely be composed of Middle Eastern wraps, sandwiches and casual fried bites.

“The hookah business is not that great anymore because of the laws (restricting indoor gatherings) and everything that’s been changing. There’s not enough business with hookah alone, so we’re adding food,” Alekozay said. “A lot of customers are coming down here bringing in food from outside, and we thought we should do our own food instead.”

The new name stems not from any sort of Cuban food on the menu but from Alekozay’s admiration of Havana’s beauty, which he said is reflected in the multicolored scarves hanging from The Palace’s ceiling and black-and-red leather couches lining the floor.

Havana Deli will have a newly constructed indoor prep kitchen if approved, according to city documents, but gyros, kebabs and shawarma will be finished in an old taco truck stationed on the lounge’s back patio, Alekozay said. A crew of Alekozay’s family members will also fry finger foods such as chicken tenders or wings while he runs indoor hookah sales and sells cold turkey and roast beef sandwiches out of a refrigerated display case.

With The Palace’s 2,000-square-foot indoor seating area now of little use, Alekozay plans to construct a 640-square-foot cover for the back patio facing Improv Alley before possibly setting out a few tables on the front sidewalk. Hookah will continue to be offered outdoors.

Havana Deli will be open from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. and 5 p.m. until midnight and will eventually apply for a California Department of Alcoholic Beverage Control license, Alekozay said.

“With the bar and deli, it’ll basically be a hangout spot for people who want to get a little sobered up — a late night spot with food available,” Alekozay said.

Alekozay immigrated to the U.S. from Afghanistan in 2001, and managed Pizza Zone in Arden Arcade and Red Apple Pizza in San Leandro before opening Darna Hookah Lounge (sold earlier this year) on Howe Avenue in 2014. He opened The Palace in 2018 under the name Sultani Palace.

The Palace is far from the only Sacramento business turning to food during the economic downturn stemming from the pandemic. The Tower Theatre is selling jumbo bags of popcorn and other concessions to go, and local bars such as The Snug have added pop-up restaurants to remain legally open.

This story was originally published August 12, 2020 at 2:28 PM.