The first cannabis restaurant in Greater Los Angeles is getting ready to open its doors and begin ushering in customers. Lowell Farms: A Cannabis Café is located in the West Hollywood district and the official launch date has finally been announced as September 1, 2019.

Southern California has never seen a café quite like this one, which will serve as an open-air social consumption lounge and diner. Cannabis consumers are invited to smoke, vaporize and eat pot-permeated edibles at the establishment, which will be fitted with an air filtration system on-par with the systems installed inside Las Vegas casinos.

Unfortunately for food connoisseurs, the grub being dished up inside West Hollywood’s first cannabis café will not contain any traces of the leafy green plant. Cannabis regulations imposed throughout the metropolis are fairly restrictive and the city’s cafés are bound to a licensing system that limits them to operate either edibles-only consumption spaces or lounges that permit guests to consume weed in various ways, just like at the Lowell Farms’ social joint.

Food at Hollywood’s cannabis café will not contain cannabis

Everyone who steps foot inside Lowell Farms: A Cannabis Café will have the opportunity to light up a spliff from their food-embellished table or alternatively, exhale CBD/THC-rich plumes using a vaporizer device. Guests are also allowed to bring their own cannabis edibles to West Hollywood’s cannabis café, where the food menu will be whipped up by Lowell Farms’ talented chef Andrea Drummer.

Drummer’s cannabis culinary expertise dates back to 2011 but due to licensing restrictions, the café menu will not feature anything that contains even the slightest trace of cannabis; guests won’t even be able to chow down on food containing the plant’s non-psychoactive cannabinoid CBD (cannabidiol) and they certainly won’t be tripping on cannabis’ primary psychotropic cannabinoid THC (tetrahydrocannabinol). Not unless they want to bring their own edibles with them, that is.

The goal of Lowell Farms’ cannabis café is to provide cannabis aficionados with a comfortable and safe space where they can relax and get to know other consumers, all the while complimenting specific strains of weed with a palatable menu of mouthwatering munchies.

“I’m excited to be part of the movement towards the normalization of cannabis use,” expressed Drummer excitedly. “I’m humbled at the opportunity to make this service accessible on a broader scale and cook for those whose senses will be heightened from cannabis. I’m part of an incredible team to create a first of its kind restaurant experience and hope customers walk away with a new appreciation for both cannabis and cuisine.”

The female chef, who previously competed on Netflix series “Cooking on High,” is looking forward to filling the tummies of hungry guests with a profusion of delectable delights, including white bean hummus with crudités, crispy Brussels sprouts, and fried chicken sandwiches. Guests can also satisfy their sweet tooth by ordering something from the dessert menu, such as caramel popcorn sprinkled with Thai chili almonds, melt-in-your-mouth crème brûlée, sweet bacon, and even ice cream sandwiches.

“Cannabis contains aromatic compounds that occur naturally in different types of flowers, creating unique aromas and flavors. Pairing these aromas and flavors, in addition to the enhancing effects of cannabis, allows chef Drummer to pair a truly unique experience that we can share socially with our guests,” explained the director of Lowell Farms, Kevin Brady.

Rabbi is not pleased with Hollywood’s cannabis café

While most people are excited at the prospect of West Hollywood’s first cannabis cafe opening its doors, Rabbi Denise Eger of Congregation Kol Ami – which sits directly opposite the cafe – is not so thrilled. The synagogue is perched on North La Brea Avenue, which is the same street that the cannabis cafe can be found on.

“The business is to have outdoor space for smoking pot—and I don’t know why my congregation members and participants have to walk through clouds of [cannabis] to get to synagogue,” wrote Rabbi Eger in an email to the West Hollywood Business License Commission.

The commission voted on Tuesday, July 16 to permit the opening of Lowell Farms’ cannabis café. Co-owner of the consumption lounge and eatery Sean Black doesn’t seem too concerned about the Rabbi’s email, however.

“We’re hoping to have a great relationship with her,” said Black, who co-founded the café alongside his business partner David Elias. Despite describing the situation as “a little scary,” Black is confident that cross-contamination can be avoided thanks to the café’s installed air filtration system. 

If anything, Lowell Farms: A Cannabis Café provides consumers with a legal place to enjoy their bud. On the other hand, since cannabis café licenses are invalid after one year, it’s only a matter of time before we discover just how successful this experiment will be.