10 APRIL 17-23, 2025 westword.com WESTWORD | MUSIC | CAFE | CULTURE | NIGHT+DAY | NEWS | LETTERS | CONTENTS | “We don’t have to look over shoulders as much. We can expand into more people who are interested in cannabis but not im- mersed in it.” The father of two was a cannabis business and marketing consultant before deciding to open Tetra. “Over that time working with dispensa- ries into 2015 and 2016, even back then, one of the biggest questions was ‘Where can we smoke this?’” he recalls. “Hearing that asked hundreds and hundreds of times helped me develop Tetra.” But the journey has been bumpy. During the fi rst 4/20 when Tetra was open as a private club, undercover police offi cers wrote citations to Benjamin and several patrons for violations of public mari- juana use and the Colorado Clean Indoor Air Act, a law that applies to smoking in public. Those citations were dismissed, but Ben- jamin found himself defending Tetra from other enforcement actions over the years, including citations from the city health de- partment for operating during the COVID-19 pandemic and a ticket from the Denver City Attorney over an alleged unlicensed cannabis consumption event in 2023. Until recently, those types of interactions were a common thread for businesses allow- ing social cannabis use. Denver’s history with cannabis is dotted with periods of clean- air enforcement against cannabis-friendly businesses and city-led efforts to shut them down. The public-private debate was often at the center of any subsequent legal battles, although no hard precedent was set in court. But for every Tetra Lounge that stays open, there’s an iBake Denver or a LOOPR, Mary Jane’s House, Marijuana Mansion, My 420 Tours or POTUS Pot Club, all of which are defunct cannabis clubs or tour services. “In Colorado, you have to put your toes in the water fi rst. They never just let you jump right in. But there were cannabis clubs and events before Tetra, and that helped make us feel free to throw these private events,” Benja- min says. “I know a couple of different lounges and models are coming on board soon, so hope- fully that creates a foundation for experience.” A lot of the tension has eased today. A few months after Tetra offi cially debuted last May, Pure Elevations, a spa licensed for cannabis sales and outdoor consump- tion, opened off South Santa Fe Drive in September. Three mobile lounges that offer cannabis-friendly shuttles and tours are also up and running, while the Coffee Joint, Denver’s fi rst-ever licensed cannabis lounge, is still in operation. Outside of Denver in unincorporated Adams County — one of the few local governments in Colorado that also licenses cannabis lounges — is High Society Dispensary & Lounge, a cannabis bar that opened in 2023 under a different name. More spaces are on the way, too. The Patterson Inn, a boutique hotel in the Capitol Hill neighborhood, received pre- liminary approval to open an indoor cannabis smoking lounge in 2022. After several road- blocks such as indoor smoke ventilation issues and a burst pipe in the fl oor, the owner hopes to open a small, pot-friendly parlor space in the basement by the summer. Cirrus Social Club, an- other cannabis bar and social lounge, is scheduled to hold a grand opening on East Colfax Avenue and Steele Street on April 18, two days before 4/20. According to founder Arend Richard, over $3 million has been raised for the project since Cirrus fi rst began con- verting an old tae kwon do studio over two years ago. Every one of these busi- nesses spent years trying to open — often while paying rent and pushing back mul- tiple grand opening dates — but more challenges lie ahead, as licensed cannabis hospitality remains largely untested across the country. Finding a cannabis-friendly establishment has never been as easy as fi nding the nearest bar or brewery in Denver. Amendment 64, the 2012 initiative that legalized recreational cannabis in Colorado, banned public cannabis consumption, but it left a gray area for private businesses and events. Private cannabis clubs with daily mem- berships as well as bus and limo services sprouted up soon after, and the turnover rate was high thanks to intermittent police raids and city citations for violating state laws that ban indoor smoking. A solution appeared to be on the way when Denver voters adopted the city’s fi rst cannabis hospitality licensing program for businesses in 2017. However, the Denver Department of Excise & Licenses added a handful of new location and operation re- strictions to the measure, and only two can- nabis lounges opened in the fi rst four years, with one of them closing within months. Four years ago, Denver City Council scrapped the local program altogether and opted for language that aligns more closely with a state pot hospitality law passed in 2019, although the location restrictions re- main. As with dispensary sales, local govern- ments must fi rst opt into licensing such businesses; for a while, Denver and unincor- porated Adams County were the only local governments to do so. Since then, the towns of Longmont and Antonito have joined in — a cannabis-friendly massage facility plans to open in Longmont and a cannabis dispen- sary and lounge is open in Antonito — and so have a handful of mountain communities such as Black Hawk, Dillon and Central City, although no businesses are currently operating in those towns. Even with a licensing structure in place, running a business that allows cannabis use still comes with a lot of fi nancial challenges, according to Rita Tsalyuk, co-owner of the Coffee Joint. Open since 2018, the Coffee Joint only allows edibles, vaporizers and electronic dabbing, turning away people who want to smoke. And it’s not exactly in a big-traffi c area: The Coffee Joint is located in Lincoln Park, an industrial part of town, right next to one of Tsalyuk’s dispensaries, 1136 Yuma. Tsalyuk never envisioned the Coffee Joint becoming a major Denver destination, al- though it did see its fair share of tourists before the pandemic. “It was never profi t- able, and never meant to be profi table. We’re adjusting to the market right now, so we use it as a YouTube studio, and our marketing department will work out of there, but it is still open as a consumption lounge,” she says. The fee to enter the Coffee Joint is nomi- nal, Tsalyuk notes, and it’s free if you buy something at 1136 Yuma. But if the cost of running the space were higher or she didn’t have a dispensary next door, she probably wouldn’t keep it open, she admits. She knows just what kind of obstacles those new to the business will face. “People need to fi nd a reason other than cannabis consumption to open. That alone won’t make it profi table. But if they fi gure out a reason to get people in there, then maybe it can be profi table,” she says. Most of Denver’s new or upcoming can- nabis venues aren’t content with simply providing a space for travelers to legally burn one last joint before heading to the airport. Tetra has some regulars and sees a decent turnout on the weekends or during big sport- ing events, but the real crowds come during cannabis industry night, stand-up comedy, karaoke or pop-up events. “It doesn’t have to be a lounge, and most of these places won’t be. It could be a pool hall, a yoga studio and anything else cannabis has been encompassed in,” Benjamin says. “I don’t think it’s about the consumption of cannabis, solely. It’s about the experiences and atmosphere you create. People can drink and listen to music at home, but nightclubs and bars create memories and experiences for people. We are Slow Burn continued from page 9 continued on page 12 The patio at Tetra Lounge allows people to enjoy cannabis on summer nights in RiNo. Dewayne Benjamin and a friend laugh over a joint at Tetra. EVAN SEMÓN PHOTOGRAPHY EVAN SEMÓN PHOTOGRAPHY
