Pass The Salt ... And The Joint: Cannabis Lounges Could Soon Serve Fresh Food

It’s only natural: When you smoke weed, you want to eat. A new bill would let you do both — in the same spot.

Right now, dispensaries can only sell pre-packaged food, but AB 374 would let cannabis lounges sell freshly cooked meals and soft drinks. Alcohol would still be off the table.

The bill’s author, Assemblymember Matt Haney (D-San Francisco), pointed to the success of the 700 or so Amsterdam-style cannabis cafes serving food and drinks in the Netherlands as the inspiration for his proposal.

“Lots of people want to enjoy legal cannabis in the company of others,” Haney said in a news release for the bill.

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Now, it's awaiting Gov. Gavin Newsom's signature. The law would go into effect in January.

Hacking the system 

Cannabis retailers say letting them serve food on-site would change the game and bring in more business.

“To have a space that is a viable alternative to a bar or restaurant, it’s really crucial that you can serve food,” said Lauren Fontein, co-owner of The Artist Tree, a chain of dispensaries in Los Angeles.

Food at the Artist Tree.

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Courtesy of The Artist Tree

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Fontein and her team have found a hack at their West Hollywood location, by partnering with Fresh Corn Grill on the fresh food front. The collaborators have gotten the process down to a science.

“We’re at the point where we are taking the food orders. Someone will come to your table, and it will feel just like any other restaurant,” Fontein said.

But there’s a catch, of course: The Artist Tree has to share revenue from food sales.

In anticipation of the potential regulatory change, Fonetin is designing a new lounge in Hawthorne with a full kitchen. She also wants to open another West Hollywood location with a built-in restaurant.

The Artist Tree lounge.

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Courtesy of The Artist Tree

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“With cannabis being legalized, we want to promote acceptance of that and promote it as something similar to alcohol, as something people should be able to enjoy,” Fontein said.

High dining 

Blocks away, Sol Yamini has also been waiting with bated breath.

He’s the owner of Urbn Leaf, another West Hollywood dispensary, who's been holding off on expanding to a sit-down lounge before knowing where the bill is headed.

“People want to eat when they smoke, right? We don’t want people coming there, smoking, and leaving,” he said.

The Urbn Leaf Dispensary

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The Urbn Leaf

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The Urbn Leaf

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Yamini said food would keep bringing people back. He envisions a full experience menu — with suggested pairings, smoothies, and desserts.

“We can bring different pop-up chefs and celebrity chefs. I mean sky’s the limit now that we have the food component,” Yamini said.

Still, they won’t be able to infuse food with cannabis, he added.

So you’ll need to save that for home baking.