Long-time business and hospitality entrepreneur Wendy Relph has announced a new international food and beverage hookah lounge venture, Secret Garden of Shisha, in St. Augustine. The establishment will formally open during the First Friday Art Walk on March 2.
Secret Garden of Shisha will specialize in craft beers, family-owned vineyard wines, Shisha (hookah), and mezze-style food. Adjacent to The Golden Gypsy, the new space will feature performance fire dancers and music along with fun and funky artwork, merchandise, fine interior design pieces and more.
Relph's lifelong treks into exotic regions including Asia, Africa, Europe, South America and the United States have yielded a trove of limited-edition teak seating and lounge art pieces and artifacts among fire pits and sculptures for an upscale hookah lounge.
Additionally, Relph has hand-sourced and imported custom teak furnishings, table, benches and chairs from Thailand along with lush landscape, artwork and sculptures to create an intimate outdoor environment.
Relph also runs Crucial Coffee and The Gourmet Hut on Charlotte and Cuna Streets in St. Augustine.
“Secret Garden of Shisha is a new concept for St. Augustine and the region, and we’re proud to be the forerunners in this genre," Relph said. "Our team continues to be thought leaders here and we’ll continue to alert and enlighten the community with our unique style."
Relph, who was born and raised in Johannesburg, South Africa, has lived and worked throughout Africa, Australia, the United Kingdom and other countries. Her 20-year history in the restaurant business began in the historic city of St. Augustine.
For more information, visit at www.facebook.com/23hookah or call (904) 377-3282.
