Six proposed marijuana shops, some warehouse-sized, could be headed to the Mission
At the Mission Police station Friday evening, Al Shawa, the owner of the Shambhala cannabis collective at 20th and Mission, told a group of 20 residents that his new proposed location at 18th and Mission Street — now the shuttered site of L’Emigrante wine bar — will not attract crime or worsen conditions on the seemingly blighted corner.
“I want to protect the Mission, keep it clean, and I want to stay in the Mission,” said Shawa, who has done business here for more than three decades.
Still, the residents expressed their concerns that the shop would attract crime and worried, too, about smoke wafting up into their apartment windows. More than anything, they worried that Mission is turning into a “go-to” spot for weed business, just like it is now for bars.
“What if this becomes a known location for marijuana businesses?” said Joel Becker, a resident at an apartment building at the intersection. “What happens to the neighborhood’s character?”
To residents unaccustomed to having a pot shop close to them who thought it wasn’t the best use of space, Shawa said gently: “I’ve got news for you — marijuana is part of your society now.”
That is especially true for Mission residents.
The neighborhood is one of San Francisco’s so-called “green zones.” Together with SoMa, Downtown, and Bayview/Hunters Point, the Mission — particularly the northern end of the neighborhood — is fertile ground for cannabis businesses.
In fact, much of the northern half of the Mission is zoned for cannabis retail shops and if all the applicants are approved, some 30,000 additional square feet of commercial and warehouse space will be devoted to the sales and distribution of cannabis.
The Mission sites, however, are dwarfed by those South of Market.
Meanwhile, more residential parts of the city — like the Sunset, Richmond, Twin Peaks, and the Marina — might be considered cannabis deserts, as only their commercial corridors allow for cannabis businesses, once those outfits have obtained a conditional use permit.
Already, six businesses, including Shambala, have applied to operate in the Mission. All of them are so-called “equity applicants,” meaning they have been unfairly treated by the War on Drugs and are allowed to apply in 2018 because they meet certain criteria. Edwin Galley, Shawa’s partner for example, qualified because of his income level, a prior eviction, and a prior marijuana-related arrest of one of his family members.
If approved, these new pot businesses would add to the existing three retail shops in the Mission, bringing the Mission’s total to nine, plus two medical dispensaries.
On Mission Street, Joseph Hunt, the former owner of Mr. Nice Guy, a dispensary that shuttered in 2011 amid a federal crackdown, has applied to operate a retail business out of 2075 Mission St., near the corner of 16th and Mission. Formerly the San Francisco College of Cosmetology, it runs from Mission Street through to Capp Street.
Hunt is thinking about calling his place Union Station, and he hopes to include a smoking lounge and have a bilingual attendant and bilingual menus in his 4,200-square-foot space on Mission.
“We’re just happy to have an opportunity to do it again,” Hunt told Mission Local.
Kind Courier — a marijuana delivery service that covers San Francisco, Marin, San Mateo, and Alameda counties — has applied to open a so-called “microbusiness” at 14th and Folsom, that will allow the business to cultivate, package, distribute, and sell their products from the 8,600-square-foot warehouse. McMorrow added he hopes to do on-site consumption at the location as well.
“We want it to be an experience like going into a winery in Napa, or a brewery,” said Brian McMorrow, Kind Courier’s CEO. “We’d love to have people to taste our products and do flights, and stuff like that.”
McMorrow, whose Kind Courier is an equity incubator — an existing business that provides space and guidance to equity applicants — said he hopes to open sometime in 2019.
Another delivery service called Where’s Weed — applying as Gilbert Logistics — has applied to operate out of a 6,000-square-foot location at 19th and Bryant streets. It’s unclear what the business will be, as is it not specified as “delivery only” on the Office of Cannabis website. The company did not respond to Mission Local inquiries.
An applicant under the name “Brother Louie LLC” has applied to open at a storefront on 24th and Hampshire, and another — called “mobudz.io” — has applied for a location at Bryant and Cesar Chavez. Mobudz.io, according to the Office of Cannabis, is a “delivery only” business. Mission Local was not able to contact either of the owners.
For their part, Shawa and Galley are envisioning a stylish and straight-forward “sales stand” for the corner space that will sell Shambala’s standard products. Meanwhile, Shawa said, his current location on Mission Street will feature a smoking lounge with espresso drinks, which he hopes to complete by late September.
On Friday, Shawa, sitting next to Galley, insisted their new location would only activate the corner of 18th and Mission with foot traffic, extra security and lighting, and pointed to his current shop as evidence that cannabis businesses do not attract blight. He emphasized that he strictly enforces a rule that restricts smoking within 30 feet of the business.
Shawa is not worried about getting his license — “unless there is huge resistance from neighbors,” he said following the meeting. “I don’t see it in my case.”
Indeed, one woman, who didn’t give her name, said she would be on board as long as Shawa met certain conditions. “If there’s no smoke in front of your place, and there is a possibility of a coffee shop until 10 o’clock,” she said, she would be fine.
And others agreed. A man named Carl Connell came into Friday’s meeting highly skeptical of Shawa’s proposal. “I came in undeniably opposed to your project,” Connell told Shawa at the end of the meeting. “But if you get the drug dealers to move [off the corner], I’ll go with it.”
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I was misquoted in this article. I never said I would be “fine with this”. I, like most of my neighbors both in my building and in other surrounding buildings oppose this marijuana dispensary. We already have one smoke shop on the corner, and don’t want a second one. Also, at the meeting, where the vast majority of the 26 attendees were opposed, Mr. Shawa repeatedly gave us misinformation, stating multiple times until he was eventually challenged and corrected, that he could legally prevent people from smoking his wares within 100 feet of his business. Worst of all, he and his business partners didn’t send out an invitation to this meeting in Spanish, only in English. There was no Spanish interpreter, and a Spanish-speaking couple there who opposed the dispensary had to rely on myself and another gentleman, neither of us fluent in Spanish, to translate. Apparently the Spanish-speaking community has a lot of objections to this dispensary opening here, and so it is questionable that Mr. Shawa didn’t reach out to Spanish speakers in this community.
Mr. Shawa does not live in this neighborhood. He just wants to make a lot of money here. But most of those of us who actually live here don’t want this dispensary to move in, and will be fighting it as best we can.
Frankie —
I appreciate your comment and for pointing out that no interpreters were present at the meeting, in spite of the fact that there were Spanish-speaking members of the community. That should have been reported.
However, first, the article never directly quotes a person – who you claim to be you – saying she would be “fine with this.” She said something similar – to the effect of “where do I sign,” after making the conditional statements about her willingness to accept the dispensary with the cafe, and if smoke didn’t waft up into her window. This happened a couple times. The second time, the whole room to erupted in laughter.
That, to me, did not signal total opposition.
Apologies for the late reply, and again thank you for reading and commenting on our article.
Julian
I AM, in fact, the wheelchair-using woman you paraphrased in your article, and I know what I said. I did NOT say I’d be “fine” with it. I said IF those conditions were met, I MIGHT be more open to the idea. But the fact of the matter is that I remain opposed to this dispensary opening at this location, as do most of the business owners and residents around this corner. We ARE mobilizing, despite Mr. Shawa’s assertion that he “doesn’t see [resistance to his business]” happening.
You should also have taken the time to interview the two Spanish-speakers present, because you might have discovered that they are pastors and their congregations are firmly opposed to this dispensary moving in. Perhaps as a reporter, you could go around to local businesses and churches and see how they feel about the glut of new marijuana businesses trying to move into the immediate neighborhood.
Frankie —
The point is, you were negotiating with Shawa. Coupled with the other gentleman who I quoted, your exchange was salient to point out: It indicated a willingness among some neighbors to work with him, despite some skepticism.
As for the Spanish-speaking attendees, it was clear they were opposed. It was also clear some community members in the room were overwhelmingly in support of the dispensary. I did not quote them either. I included you and the other gentleman because, as I noted before, you both took a unique stance.
It is difficult to poll every last member of the community regarding their opinion on a proposed development. That’s why they have meetings of exactly this sort.
This will not be our final article on the subject. I look forward to speaking to more people in the coming days and weeks.
Julian
Julian, thank you for this informative article – its interesting to see the almost Byzantine logic behind the existing Cannabis zoning rules. I happen to agree with the sentiment that this is ‘a part of our culture now’ and I look forward to some very cool Cannabis clubs in the Mission.