Older Stoner had the opportunity to sit down with Sara Stewart, CEO and co-founder of RITUAL, which provides consulting services to individuals and organizations in the cannabis industry who are seeking to develop and operate cannabis consumption lounges.
Older Stoner: Thank you for joining us, Sara. Are there any consumption lounges open in the US today?
Sara: Yes. There are four in West Hollywood, several in other parts of California and one in Chicago currently.
Older Stoner: Aside from the national cannabis hurdles, why are there so few lounges operating?
Sara: It’s a new type of business model. Some of the lounges that have not opened would have been restricted to a 50 over 50 rule, meaning that they can only allow cannabis to be consumed in a smoking or vaping capacity and in only 50% of the available square footage. That has prohibited several (potential) lounges from opening because there’s not really a path to profitability.
Most of our attention is focused on Las Vegas. They have a lot of sensible regulations. They are encouraging hospitality driven environments. They are expecting several single serving THC drink options while also requiring operators to have low dose products on site as well. There are a lot of good things happening in the Vegas market right now.
Closely tied to the regulation and the delays that many projects are experiencing is that there’s a lot of money that needs to be raised for these projects and the regulatory impediments make raising funds much more difficult.
Older Stoner: Can you share some details on the lounge in Chicago?
Sara: Yes, I built it with Green Thumb Industries. It’s called Rise Mundelein. Unfortunately, Illinois is not really open to food or beverage on site in any capacity. So it looks more like those glorified smoking rooms that you’ve seen in San Francisco and other places. Yet, the beauty of Illinois is that anyone who has a retail license can automatically build a consumption lounge connected to their dispensary. That opens the licensing opportunities greatly. You’re not paying (extra) for a consumption lounge license; you’re just basically awarded one.
Older Stoner: What are your thoughts on serving infused food at consumption lounges?
Sara: We don’t really infuse any products in consumption lounges. We like to keep that for special events. You may need up to 2-3 hours for those infused dinners to hit your bloodstream. And when we’re turning tables in a consumption lounge every 90 minutes, we can’t really count on edible consumption.
Older Stoner: What’s the demographic that tends to partake in consumption lounges?
Sara: Surprisingly it’s everyone. I think that if these are normalized establishments that look like a bar or restaurant from the outside, then they have a great opportunity to attract a wide audience and become profitable. I would say that some people including newbies and seniors may be deterred from going into a smoking lounge that’s connected / adjacent to a dispensary.
I’ve seen parent teacher conferences; I’ve seen a grandparents birthday party where the whole family attended (sans kids). I have seen people on first dates. We’ve sort of witnessed it all here in West Hollywood. This sheds light on the growth opportunity as more seniors and adults become exposed to the cannabis lounge concept and if they offer the right products on site.
Thank you, Sara, for the great insights. We look forward to updates as the Consumption Lounge industry continues to grow and evolve.
