- Title: No more munchies; America's first cannabis cafe opens in California
- Date: 1st October 2019
- Summary: (SOUNDBITE) (English) PRINCESS AGWU, 30-YEARS-OLD, FROM HOUSTON, TEXAS, SAYING: "It is amazing, like, it's my first time experiencing something like this, to be able to come out and enjoy great food, buy cannabis, be able to meet cool people and enjoy the vibe is, it's amazing. There is nothing like it. It is an experience like no other. It is something that everyone should come and enjoy. It's a moment in history, a moment that needed to come and I am so, so glad to be a part of it." (SOUNDBITE) (English) JOY ALISON COHEN, FROM NEW YORK CITY, SAYING: "This is an historic event, I have been waiting a long time. I've had to fly to Amsterdam to experience this. No more. We have better pot now too so it is awesome, the time has come." VARIOUS OF MAN LOOKING AT MENU WEST HOLLYWOOD, CALIFORNIA, UNITED STATES (RECENT) (REUTERS) (SOUNDBITE) (English) CHEF ANDREA DRUMMER, SAYING: "Yeah so what I wanted to do when I started in the industry what I was doing is infusing food directly with cannabis but now that we are unable to do that currently, what we are looking into doing is pairing the strains with the different menu items so each day we'll smell and taste the strains of the cannabis and then offer pairings, much like you would do wine pairings." WEST HOLLYWOOD, CALIFORNIA, UNITED STATES (OCTOBER 1, 2019) (REUTERS) CAFE MANAGER SELMA DELIC CARRYING TRAY WITH SMOKING AND CANNABIS PRODUCTS ON IT (SOUNDBITE) (English) SELMA DELIC, MANAGER OF LOWELL CAFE, SAYING: "So, when they come in there are actually two separate menus, we have a food menu for the restaurant side and then we also have a cannabis menu so it's kind of a different experience here. On the cannabis menu we have pretty much everything you can find from vape to your typical flower, your pre-rolled joints, joints infused with hash, concentrates as well as edibles. We have a pretty curated selection of what we choose to be on the menu but, yes, we have a variety of everything." VARIOUS OF CANNABIS CAFE (SOUNDBITE) (English) SELMA DELIC, MANAGER OF LOWELL CAFE, SAYING: "Well we definitely make sure that our flower hosts ask two questions, one being where are they from and two being what is their tolerance to THC. From then we will kind of gauge what we would like to recommend, also method consumption is very important. Something like smoking a pre-roll or a vape can be very different than edibles. So, you have to gauge what the guest is wanting to do and start very low." VIEW OF CANNABIS CAFE (SOUNDBITE) (English) ANTHONY SUSARREY, 40-YEAR-OLD LOS ANGELES RESIDENT, SAYING: "I mean I think cannabis, THC is very typecast, there is a lot of stereotype on it, especially with the older school generation. So, I think this kind of brings it out to say that it is, you know, there has been nothing wrong with CBD and THC but positive things, especially health-wise. So, why not be able to enjoy it and not be afraid of it or have that stigma that it is a drug and it is a bad drug when pharmaceuticals sell worse drugs than this." VIEW OF PATIO AT CANNABIS CAFE WEST HOLLYWOOD, CALIFORNIA, UNITED STATES (RECENT) (REUTERS) (SOUNDBITE) (English) GENERAL MANAGER KEVIN BRADY, SAYING: "People are really excited now to move away from alcohol, that there is this entire movement that waking up the next morning and making it to spin class or going to yoga. When you have a couple of glasses of chardonnay, that probably isn't happening that next morning but we are excited to be able to bring everybody here and share that element of community with one another and introduce something that is a social lubricant, that people are excited to share and also be able to function the next morning without a problem." WEST HOLLYWOOD, CALIFORNIA, UNITED STATES (OCTOBER 1, 2019) (REUTERS) VARIOUS OF PEOPLE SMOKING IN PATIO OF CANNABIS CAFÉ
- Embargoed: 15th October 2019 23:58
- Keywords: Marijuana Cafe West Hollywood Cannabis California Los Angeles
- Location: WEST HOLLYWOOD, CALFORNIA, UNITED STATES
- City: WEST HOLLYWOOD, CALFORNIA, UNITED STATES
- Country: USA
- Topics: Arts / Culture / Entertainment
- Reuters ID: LVA003AZ9PS93
- Aspect Ratio: 16:9
- Story Text: Hollywood's three-martini lunch may be going up in smoke with the opening on Tuesday (October 1) of the first restaurant in the United States where weed can be openly consumed.
Almost two years after California began allowing sales of recreational cannabis, Lowell Farms: A Cannabis Cafe opened its doors in trendy West Hollywood, offering farm-to-table cuisine alongside vaping, joints, bongs and prepackaged edibles.
"We are excited to be that flagship, that benchmark, to show people that a cannabis business isn't something that is scary," said general manager Kevin Brady.
"It's something that hasn't been legal for 120 years," he added of the restaurant venture, which is funded by cannabis farmers Lowell Herb Co., whose backers include the likes of pop star Miley Cyrus, actor Chris Rock and comedian Sarah Silverman.
While the food served at Lowell Cafe will not be infused with cannabis, diners will be offered the services of a "flower host" who will advise how to pair different strains of marijuana with menu items and roll a joint at the table.
"Each day we will smell and taste the strains of the cannabis and offer pairings, much as you would do with wine pairings," said chef Andrea Drummer.
Californians have been enjoying cannabis-infused food in private homes and at dinner parties since the state began allowing sales of recreational cannabis in January 2018. But Lowell Cafe is the first to open of eight cafes or restaurants that were awarded licenses by West Hollywood for public consumption, and the first in the United States.
The restaurant is aimed beyond Hollywood A-listers.
New Yorker Joy Alison Cohen, who was among the first customers on Tuesday, called the opening a "historic event."
"I've had to fly to Amsterdam to experience this. No more. We have better pot now too, so it is awesome," she said.
"We have families that are excited to come in and share it with their relatives and their grandparents. We have people that have reached out from Russia, Tokyo, Italy who want to plan their vacations to come here specifically for the cafe," said Brady.
The restaurant has an indoor and outdoor dining space and a high-tech air filtration system that managers say will scrub out the smoke and ensure that no diners go home high for free.
"They won't feel like they are walking into a Korean barbecue or a funny stoner comedy," said Brady.
(Production: Jill Serjeant, Krystian Orlinski, Alan Devall, Omar Younis) - Copyright Holder: REUTERS
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