Los Angeles is no stranger to secret seshes, curated weed parties, and exclusive cannabis dinners. But this summer, a permanent consumption space will open in nearby West Hollywood, California, in the form of Lowell Farms: A Cannabis Cafe.
The new cannabis restaurant from Lowell Herb Co., a California organic cannabis farm well known for its prerolls, aims to feature a full menu of fresh, cannabis-infused seasonal dishes including sandwiches, salads, comfort foods, and infused beverage options.
Digital renderings of the restaurant’s layout show an open-air design that heavily incorporates plants and natural materials, with lots of room for natural light to permeate the space. Kitchen and dining operations will be under the direction of Richard Brenner, chief operating officer of Hugo’s Restaurant in West Hollywood.
Lowell Herb Co.’s Lowell Farms: A Cannabis Cafe in West Hollywood will serve both infused and non-infused sandwiches, salads, entrees and beverages. (Illustration courtesy of Lowell Farms: A Cannabis Cafe)
In addition to its large outdoor patio section, the restaurant will also feature ample bar space, and a selection of non-alcoholic cannabis-infused beverages will be a big focus of the menu.
All items on the cafe’s menu will be available virgin or infused with one to 10 milligrams of THC or cannabidiol (CBD). Lowell Farms’ Executive Chef Andrea Drummer comes to the restaurant with years of experience creating VIP cannabis-infused meals and working with chefs whose restaurants were honored with Michelin stars.
Plants and large windows to let in natural light are part of the decor of Lowell Farms: A Cannabis Cafe, set to open by summer 2019 in West Hollywood, California. (Illustration courtesy of Lowell Farms: A Cannabis Cafe)
In a press release, Lowell Herb Co. claimed the restaurant will be a “safe, welcoming environment for all to enjoy and learn about the newly legalized world of cannabis.”
The restaurant also aims to have an institutional focus on local community outreach — including door-to-door contact with neighbors, a 24-hour hotline, community liaison, community discounts, and accounting for the restaurant’s environmental footprint.
Lowell Herb Co. was one of 16 companies in West Hollywood to be awarded a business license for a cannabis consumption lounge on Dec. 18, 2018. Lowell Farms: A Cannabis Cafe is poised to be the first of the city’s licensed consumption lounges to open its doors. The ordinance put West Hollywood as one of only a handful of cities that offer public consumption venues. Others include Denver, Portland, Oregon, and San Francisco and Oakland in California.
When Lowell Herb Co. applied for and secured its consumption lounge license, the restaurant was called Flore West Hollywood, but the restaurant’s design, personnel, and community focus hasn’t changed. Lowell Herb Co. told Weedmaps News that the cafe is expected to be a natural extension of its brand.
John Leonard, West Hollywood’s Community and Legislative Affairs Manager who helped lead the initiative to grant licenses for consumption lounges, told Weedmaps News on Dec. 21, 2018, that cannabis consumptions lounges would integrate well with the city’s local entertainment facilities.
“West Hollywood has a large number of restaurants, bars, and hotels that are attractive to tourists. Every weekend, our population grows by thousands of people,” Leonard said. “Consumption lounges seem a natural extension of what we have to offer.”
Expect to see Lowell Farms: A Cannabis Cafe open its doors to consumption (and dining) by summer 2019.
Andy Andersen
Andy Andersen is a writer at Weedmaps with a bachelor’s degree in English and German Studies. When he’s not working on useful, engaging content for the cannabis sphere, Andy can be found devouring and writing about movies, music, and literature. His happy place is in front of the TV with his bong and two cats, Poe and Rigby.
