Blue Fig Hookah bar closing

After more than eight years in business, Blue Fig Hookah Cafe will close its doors at the end of April. According to manager Karim Almadi, the impending closure is the result of the building having new ownership, not Cleveland’s new Tobacco 21 ordinance.

On March 22, 11619 Euclid Monmouth LLC purchased the Blue Fig building and its back parking lot from Cleveland-based trustee David Leavitt, who had controlled the building since 2012. The purchase of Blue Fig is unrelated to the Euclid 116 apartment development on the site of next-door neighbor Pinata’s Mexican Restaurant.

The closure comes as a surprise to Case Western Reserve University students like third-year Quinn Winters, who called Blue Fig one of his primary hangout spots. Winters said that the lounge was “pretty much the only chill place near campus where people could go relax.” Winters also enjoyed studying with Blue Fig’s free wifi.

Blue Fig’s late night hours will also be missed, as it was one of the few businesses open late in Uptown. Almadi did not know what will replace the hookah bar.