Shisha smoking was popular for years, but then came the pandemic, the energy crisis and – even worse – new packaging regulations. Visiting a Munich bar that is struggling.
There is thin peach smoke in the “Oceans” shisha lounge in Munich-Neuhausen, and a campfire is blazing on the flat screen. Owner Oguzhan Güler leans on his counter with both elbows, but in reality, he says, his back is already against the wall. His sales have fallen by more than a fifth in the past year and a half and he has had to let go of four temporary employees and two permanent employees. “None of this is fun anymore,” says Güler, shaking his head. “We can no longer exist as a shisha bar like this.”