Tuscaloosa Hookah Lounge Owned By Isaiah Buggs Has Long History Of City Code Violations

TUSCALOOSA, AL — A Tuscaloosa hookah lounge owned by former Alabama football standout and Super Bowl LVIII champion Isaiah Buggs has a recent history of serious run-ins with the City of Tuscaloosa's code enforcement division.

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The violations were provided to Tuscaloosa Patch through a public records request and detail persisting issues such as overcrowding, failure to pay city sales tax and operating without a business license at the location on Greensboro Avenue.

The revelation comes as Buggs, a defensive lineman who was a practice squad member for the Kansas City Chiefs when they won the most recent Super Bowl, is facing several pending criminal charges.

Patch reported Thursday morning that Buggs had turned himself in on two misdemeanor counts of second-degree animal cruelty and is also facing pending charges in municipal court after he allegedly shoved Tuscaloosa Police Chief Brent Blankley during an arrest in April and pointed his pistol at a woman during an unrelated verbal altercation outside of Kings Hookah Lounge.

Both of the incidents at the hookah lounge occurred in April — just days after two visibly neglected dogs were found at a house in Tuscaloosa that Buggs had been renting.

Apart from the animal cruelty charges, the other two incidents are worth pointing out because they occurred at Kings Hookah Lounge.

A public records request by Patch with the City of Tuscaloosa shows that the business is operated by Big Pooh Enterprises, LLC, which received its first retail liquor license on July 30, 2020.

According to business entity records obtained through the Alabama Secretary of State's Office, Big Pooh Enterprises was formed in South Carolina in March 2020 and lists Buggs as its registered agent.

His former rental home, where the neglected dogs were recovered, is listed in records as being the business's primary mailing address. However, as Patch previously reported, Buggs saw his lease terminated earlier this year due to owing over $3,000 in unpaid rent to the property owner.

Buggs now lists a Joshua Street address in Northport.

Through two public records requests by Patch, the city provided numerous recent citations dating back a couple of years, which underscore several longstanding issues for the hookah bar.

One of the first documented violations at the business came in February 2022, after the business had been warned about the overflow of trash next to its dumpster but failed to address it and, as a result, was cited by city code enforcement.

A couple of months later, overcrowding issues began to arise as over 275 patrons were counted by police on the night of April 15, 2022 — the night before the 2022 Golden Flake A-Day Game at the University of Alabama. This evening saw responding officers note that the crowd had spilled over into neighboring lots and a delivery truck was blocking traffic as it tried to enter the parking lot of the hookah bar.

What's more, TPD officers also said there were security guards working in the lot who were not wearing identifying clothing, while mentioning in the report that one subject in the parking lot had on a heavy ballistic vest and said he was a bonding agent.

The business was then cited for overcrowding on March 11, 2023, after a Tuscaloosa Police officer noted the large crowd inside.

At the scene, an employee told the officer that there were 153 people inside, despite its occupancy being set at 83 by the fire marshal. The officer then used a ticker to count all of the patrons leaving and, after the final tally, 267 people were found to have been inside.

This didn't include the 17 employees also working that night.

The following June, Kings Hookah Lounge was cited for operating without a license and being two months behind on reporting liquor sales.

This still appeared to be the case three months later, when the business was cited again by city code enforcement for the same violation before it was mentioned in the report that the owner was three months behind on paying city sales tax and liquor tax.

The numerous visits by city code enforcement and police seem to have done little to change the day-to-day approach of the business, which was cited again on March 15 for overcrowding and again on March 19 for being four months behind on paying city sales tax and liquor tax.

This occurred just a few days before the neglected dogs were discovered at the house that Buggs had supposedly been renting and where he listed his address on business documents.

The most recent citation came on the night of the physical altercation where Buggs is accused of pushing Tuscaloosa Police Chief Brent Blankley. This was the night of the 2024 A-Day Game and Buggs was cited after 283 patrons were counted at the establishment, which has an occupancy of 83 people.

Despite the myriad accusations leveled against the professional football player, Buggs has maintained his innocence on all counts and insists that the slew of charges are part of a concerted effort by the City of Tuscaloosa and its police department to smear his reputation and target his place of business in the hopes of getting it shut down.

Buggs, 27, was signed to the Chiefs' practice squad in 2023 ahead of the Super Bowl run and signed a reserve/future contract with the team in February.

Originally from Ruston, Louisiana and drafted out of Alabama in the sixth round by the Pittsburgh Steelers, Buggs has also played for Las Vegas Raiders and the Detroit Lions. He was also a member of Alabama's 2018 national championship team.

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