Nearly 100 years ago, Prohibition banned alcohol in the U.S., forcing restaurants and other gathering places to rethink how to bring in customers. This was even more true when Prohibition was repealed in the 1930s as alcoholic libations went from a coveted, forbidden indulgence (which people managed to get in their hands anyway) to once again commonplace in the U.S. In the years that followed, the Tiki bar, sports bar, and, yes, the speakeasy format are testaments to how owners and managers kept customers’ attention.
A century later, cannabis is slyly shifting into the mainstream. States that currently allow for the on-premise enjoyment of cannabis include Alaska, California, Colorado, Illinois, Maryland, Michigan, Missouri, Minnesota, Nevada, New Jersey, New Mexico, and New York.
While dispensaries and locales reminiscent of “coffee shops” found in Amsterdam are thriving, stylish cannabis cafés and lounges with “destination” ambition are generating a buzz, so to speak, particularly in California. It was the first state to allow medicinal cannabis use when voters passed the Compassionate Use Act in 1996. Up until now, it has remained legal in California for both medicinal and adult (recreational) use, though businesses have been regulated to ensure they operate safely, products are contaminant-free and labeled, and kept away from children.
“For too many Californians, the promise of cannabis legalization remains out of reach,” said Governor Newsom in a September 2022 press release around the same time he signed ten marijuana-related bills that would strengthen California’s cannabis laws, expand the legal cannabis market, and redress the harms of cannabis prohibition in the past few years. “These measures build on the important strides our state has made toward this goal, but much work remains to build an equitable, safe, and sustainable legal cannabis industry.”
According to California’s Department of Cannabis Control, cannabis use on private property was permitted after 1996’s laws went on the books, but not in public places like restaurants, bars, and hotels where it is illegal to smoke tobacco. Based on public demand over time, Governor Gavin Newsom was able to sign legislation into law permitting cannabis dispensaries, cafés, and lounges to also serve food and host live music performances starting January 1, 2025.
Where There’s Smoke, There’s Innovation.
Lounges of note in trendy West Hollywood have already developed ways to transform how cannabis is enjoyed ahead of the New Year and the new laws. Private Reserve, with an interior design “wow” factor found in many high-end mixology bars and restaurants, opened in summer 2024 with the intention of transforming how people could enjoy the best cannabis products on the market. Christopher King, a founder of architecture and design firm Local Design Collaborative, was tapped to create a “floating lounge” atmosphere with high ceilings, exposed bowstring trusses, and large skylights filling the space with natural light.
Customers can either purchase luxury cannabis products at the adjoining Off the Charts (OTC) retail shop, or trust one of its Ganjiers (the cannabis industry’s answer to a sommelier) to recommend the right selections from its curated offerings and methods of consumption, as one would with cocktails or flights in a traditional bar. This is a “true hospitality-oriented experience,” according to its founders Norman Yousif and Nima Haddadi. Lounge customers can also pre-purchase cannabis online and pick it up later in the evening from a private locker to enjoy in the lounge afterhours.
Yousif drew upon California’s progressive cannabis laws and several years of experience in retail business operations to found OTC in 2020, a dispensary distinguished by its premium products and an open, fashionable shopping environment. This fresh take on dispensaries let to a quick but solid expansion with over 20 locations now located throughout the state. In 2021, he enlisted criminal defense attorney/dispensary expert Haddadi to help him navigate the legalities of the burgeoning cannabis industry, and later, expand the OTC West Hollywood location to encompass Private Reserve.
Other cannabis lounges in Los Angeles are setting trends and providing inspiration, and when permitted, nibbles from some of the city’s wunderkind chefs. PleasureMed, established in October 2023, encompasses a Caribbean-hued dispensary and two restaurants: Cannabis lounge and restaurant Irie, noted for its “flight attendant” cannabis sommeliers, and Hind, a traditional cocktail bar-restaurant with no cannabis offerings. The menu for both venues is developed by noted L.A. chef Wes Whitsell, whose global-chic creations include lamb shakshuka and jerk fried quail. T
he Woods, founded by actor Woody Harrelson in fall 2022, doesn’t yet provide food but delivers the (other) goods in a lush, 5,000-square-foot space decked out with cabanas, a non-alcoholic beverage bar, plush seating, exotic birds, koi ponds, and a garden.
The Cannabis Café, opened in 2019 and credited as West Hollywood’s first cannabis venue, reopened November 2023 with a menu created by Chef Jonah Johnson. Food selections include Korean-style wings, nachos, burgers, steak frites, and DIY sundaes and milkshakes. Customers have the option of buying pre-rolls, cannabis flower, edibles, and beverages under the lounge’s brand or paying $25 to bring their own.
The Artist Tree opened in West Hollywood in 2019 and expanded to nine locations across California, including Beverly Hills and Laguna Woods. It now has The Studio Cannabis Smoking Lounge, “dedicated to artists and highlighting the connection between art and cannabis,” according to Lauren Fontein, co-founder and Chief Compliance Officer.
"We wanted to create something that felt new, exciting, open, and inviting in contrast to the dispensaries of the past,” details Fontein. “In addition to creating a non-intimidating, elevated shopping experience, we wanted to ensure any type of customer would feel welcome in our dispensaries, including those who are not frequent cannabis consumers. Our stores are designed to look like and operate like art galleries, with displays of art by Los Angeles-area artists that are rotated every three months. All the art is for sale by the artists and we take no commission, giving us another way to connect with the local community and reflect local culture. In a similar fashion, our lounges are stylish and sophisticated rather than counter-culture since one of our goals is to normalize the cannabis experience.”
Until the new California law goes into effect, the lounges in West Hollywood and Hawthorne are partnering with nearby restaurants as they gradually transition into fully integrated hospitality venues where food prepared on site can be served (a kitchen was being built into the Hawthorne location at press time).
Fontein sees this time as a win-win situation as other community businesses benefit. She also sees the zero-proof trend benefiting cannabis lounges as she has customers looking for alternatives to traditional bars and restaurants, even with other nearby restaurants and bars offering zero-proof cocktails and drinks. Furthermore, it opens up avenues of creative mixology as bartenders she works with are creating new inventions using alcohol-free alternatives.
“As there’s very few places to do that right now, I don’t see [cannabis lounges] as a threat to other types of restaurants/bars,” says Fontein. “There is separation on the state regulatory level that [mandates] that a venue that has alcohol can't sell cannabis and vice versa. Therefore, we work with our mixologists to develop different seasonal drink menus for our Hawthorne and West Hollywood locations that appeal to different clients in each area. As Hawthorne is near LAX, cocktails are inspired by travel, aviation, and the South Bay area lifestyle. Like traditional cocktails, our drinks use fresh ingredients and high-quality non-alcoholic mixers, including some that mimic the taste of different alcoholic beverages. There are also different cannabis doses, so customers can go with a strength they are comfortable with.”
If Fontein’s lounges have a theme, it is “community.” The owners offer programming beyond live music (“cannabis and music pair well together,” she says), including “puff and paint” classes, drag shows (a West Hollywood favorite), writing workshops, and sound baths—all in keeping with the goal to create something that’s “uniquely L A.” She also believes that if traditional bars and restaurants go through safety parameters and licensing to serve alcohol, there should be a parallel protocol for cannabis to be consumed on site.
Turning Over a New Leaf Beyond California
Los Angeles, San Francisco, Chicago, New York City, and Denver were among the first major cities to allow entrepreneurs to bring cannabis consumption from dispensaries out into the open in differing degrees. While Massachusetts’ recreational cannabis “industry” is still in its early stages, Kyle Moon, owner of The Summit Lounge & Café in Worcester, MA, is moving forward with confidence.
“We find that the majority of our members choose not to drink, and while some skeptics try to equate cannabis with alcohol, there is a difference in the consumer,” says Moon. “In some ways, we are working with a similar business model in that a lounge fits the hospitality and nightlife categories. A lot of people are looking for interesting spaces to socialize and enjoy cannabis as others would with alcohol.”
Moon explains that cannabis lounges in Massachusetts are not yet licensed as “social consumption establishments,” and customers cannot purchase and consume cannabis on-site as they would in California. He explains his company technically functions as a non-profit since The Summit allows cannabis use on-premise and provides social and intellectual enrichment of its membership through things like entertainment and other activities. While it operates as a BYOC (“bring your own cannabis”) site for now, he has faith that things will move forward as cannabis lounges become mainstream in other parts of the country.
“We are one of the first cannabis lounges of its kind in Massachusetts in that we operate as a lounge where people can come in and enjoy cannabis the way some BYOB restaurants do with wine and spirits,” he continues. “While Massachusetts has had legal [medical cannabis use] for a long time, it is still relatively new to the recreational market. It is five years old, and our regulators are taking the approach of ‘walk before you run.’ Even with that, I feel we will approach that point where Massachusetts culture has shifted, and the way cannabis is regulated will change from [it being called] ‘hazardous’ material to getting treated as a consumable product like liquor.”
Moon believes that social consumption of cannabis should be treated the same way liquor is at traditional bars and restaurants. He observes his customer base is moving away from the “granola” vibe of coffee shops and toward a club environment or an upscale café setting. When The Summit Lounge first opened in 2018, it only had a pre-packaged food license. Later, permission was granted to sell milkshakes, coffee, tea, and light sandwiches.
“They aren't about the food or about the alcohol, they're about the social experience,” he affirms. “They can eat, drink, or smoke at home, but they choose to go out and pay a premium for cannabis products because they are getting both a product and a social environment. As we’ve been around since 2018, we've seen a shift in the market, moving away from that black market vibe to a legal industry. I predict in the next few years, we will see a wide variety of [cannabis establishments] open up. Some people want an Amsterdam or Barcelona-style ‘coffee shop’ while others will want something along the lines of a gallery or wine bar, or a place where they can see a rap concert. Restaurants and other businesses also stand to benefit.”
While Fontein agrees that legalization is “definitely not there yet legally,” she, like Moon, thinks cannabis lounges and traditional bars and restaurants can coexist. “We have shown that we can operate this business responsibly and compliantly, while making it a safe place for consuming cannabis responsibly,” she says. “I think [our success] will help pave the way for other municipalities and states to allow lounges. We want to be a good role model for every [lounge owner] coming after us. We look forward to a time when lounges are an extension of the other offerings that your city has in addition to restaurants and bars.”
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