Could Tok and ‘Uncle Ike’s II,’ be Seattle’s ‘Boardwalk’ and ‘Park Place’?

June 3, 2015 By Manic Conrad

15th Avenue. This quiet and quaint little avenue on top of Capitol Hill, is home to many small businesses including restaurants, cafes, coffee shops, grocery stores, and bars. Not much happens here expect for a tiny flurry of nightlife during the weekend.

But this could all change with the inclusion of two recreational marijuana stores. Capitolhillseattle.com does an excellent job covering how Tok, is set to take over Angel’s Shoe Repair shop, which already has an eviction notice on the storefront; and Ian Eisenberg of Uncle Ike’s, which has confirmed plans to build another pot shop in place of a former veterinary clinic.

Capitol Hill is the most densely populated residential district in Seattle. It is also without a single pot shop. Not only this is surprising because of the number of residents that would benefit from a pot shop nearby, but because of its’ historical counter culture status – a pot shop here just makes sense.

One of the main reasons why there aren’t any recreational marijuana stores in Capitol Hill is because of the 1000ft. rule, which keeps them away from places where children frequent such as schools, arcades, parks, daycares. Because of this, there aren’t many places on the hill where a legal cannabis shop is allowed to open. Which makes 15th Avenue NE, prime real estate.

Does this make Tok and a possible ‘Uncle Ikes II,’ Seattle’s version of Monopoly’s ‘Boardwalk’ and ‘Park Place?’ What do you think of two recreational marijuana stores so close to each other on the avenue? How much of an upper hand will Ian Eisenberg’s new shop have in terms of branding, if it was to be called Uncle Ike’s II?

The Art of Naming and Renaming Marijuana Strains

April 21, 2015 By Manic Conrad

Green crack.

Yep, that’s not gonna fly. Now that we are all professionals now.

I was watching a short documentary titled: Stoned Moms: The Marijuana Industry’s Greatest Untapped Market. In short, the documentary focuses on the importance of mothers to the recreational marijuana industry. In other words, if you want this industry to go big, you need to sell the moms on legal pot.

During the documentary, Jessica Roake, a mother living in a Washington D.C suburbs, travelled to Colorado to take a look at the legal cannabis industry up close. During her visit, she was shown a strain of marijuana known as Green Crack. Without any hesitation she says, “Green Crack…that’s a real branding problem…you want to get rid of this stigma for moms.”

She’s right. But, it’s a branding problem for not just moms. It’s a problem for others who find that name a little too illicit. This may have been okay when the industry was underground, but now that it’s out in the open, some things will need to change.

We first learned of conscious naming and renaming practices last year when we visited with manager Adam Smith and chief grower Jason Smit of Avitas Agriculture, a Washington State marijuana producer. Even though they are aware of our newfound industry and the wrinkles that need to be ironed out, their naming practice comes from a place deeper within.

For example, the popular marijuana strain known as Durbin Poison, they simply call Durbin. They don’t want to use a word such as ‘poison‘ in the name because of the strong negative connotation. In addition, the strain of weed known as Girl Scout Cookies, they simply call GSC. Again, they don’t want the term ‘girl scout‘ to be part of the name.

What about marijuana strains such as Beastmode OG, produced by local producer Zion Gardens? There are no negative connotations associated with these names, just blue and green fanfare. And we love these names! Heck, let’s just go ahead and name a strain after every player on our beloved Seahawks!

Let’s play devil’s advocate. Even though Marshawn Lynch holds the rights to his nickname, he may see it as an honor to have a strain of weed named after him and not really care too much about it. But what if it was someone else? It could be another member of the Seahawks team, a musician, or even a celebrity. Maybe they wouldn’t see it as such an honor? If so, this could lead to problems such as litigation.

During our High Five interview with Ian Eisenberg, one of the owners of Uncle Ike’s Pot Shop, he mentioned that a lot of the ‘names are lost with his customers (probably 40-50 years old) and it will be interesting to see how the names evolve.’ We at HAS are interested as well and will continue to follow this.

What do you think of the names for marijuana strains? Are there names of strains you feel need to be changed? Let us know in the comments below.

High Five Interview: Ian Eisenberg, Owner of Uncle Ike’s Pot Shop

December 10, 2014 By Manic Conrad

‘High Five’ is an interview where we choose someone from the local marijuana industry who is deserving of appreciation.

Ian Eisenberg is one of the owners of Uncle Ike’s Pot Shop. The fact that he is one of the owners didn’t have much to do with luck as he placed badly in the I-502 retail lottery earlier this year and walked away without a license. But, with a little bit of skill, experience, leverage, and perseverance, he was able to turn his dream into a reality.

We would like to thank this recreational marijuana store owner for taking the time out of his busy schedule to answer the following questions. For opening the 2nd legal retail shop in Seattle, we give Ian Eisenberg a ‘High Five.’

1) Predict the Future. Three years from now what does the local Seattle recreational marijuana industry look like and where are we nationally?

In three years I think all 21 recreational shops will be open. The big “if” is what will happen to the medical marijuana industry. I think legislation will pass and medical marijuana will be rolled into the existing I502 framework or the LCB will be tasked with creating a similar framework. I also think there will be some kind of state patient registry. The price of recreational weed will continue to fall and the available products will expand. I think our regulatory framework will be a model for other states.

2) Go back to the age of 21. Someone tells you that you would open a marijuana shop in Seattle in 2014. How do you react and what do you say?

Sounds good, let’s do it!

3) What is your favorite part about running Uncle Ike’s? What is the most challenging?

My favorite part is the people. We have great employees and all of the vendors we deal with are, seriously, the nicest people I have ever met. One of the funnest things is dealing with the customers who are so happy and excited – it is contagious. One of the most challenging things is just dealing with Biotrack and working through the kinks associated with a new industry. Every day is exciting and filled with something new.

4) Who is your role model and why?

I’m still looking for one.

5) Martian Mean Green, Schnazzleberry, and Trainwreck, are some of our favorite names for strains of cannabis. Here’s your chance! If you could name a strain of cannabis, what would you name it?

Our average customer is probably 40 or 50 years old. I think a lot of the current names are lost on them. It will be interesting to see how the names evolve.

How KC Martin Franks Won the Lottery Twice Making Him Rich and How It Messes Everything Up

November 11, 2014 By Manic Conrad

A lot of people will go through a lifetime with dreams of winning a lottery but never come close. Bucket loads of money and effort later, they are no better off than they were, and sometimes worse. And then someone will come along and not just win the lottery, but when it twice in the same drawing. Lucky bastard.

KC Martin Franks (not sure if this is a name of a person, the name of an LLC, or both) won two spots in the Washington State retail license lottery back in July. According to the Marijuana Applicants List, 388 businesses entered the lottery for their chance to win one of 27 available recreational cannabis licenses for the City of Seattle. That means KC Martin Franks had just under a 7% chance of winning. Which would mean he had just over a 3% chance of winning the lottery twice. Again, lucky bastard.

Just recently, Central District pot shop Uncle Ike’s, opened as the 2nd recreational marijuana store in Seattle. Even though their were several owners attached to this shop, the only name anyone knew of was Ian Eisenberg, a local entrepreneur. But, because of a lawsuit filed by the church next door to the pot shop which discloses additional info, we now know who the other owners are – one of which is KC Martin Franks.

So why do we believe KC Martin Franks is rich? For one, when CapitolHillSeattle.com covered the opening of Uncle Ike’s Pot Shop back in September, the article states in reference to Ian Eisenberg’s ability to work out a deal: ‘…was able to work out an “oh my fucking god” expensive deal to acquire a portion of another company that did luck out in the liquor board’s summer pot license lottery.’ It looks to us that KC Martin Frank is beneficiary of an expensive deal. So we assume he’s rich. Of course, that’s subjective. Add the fact that Uncle Ike’s pulled in oodles of money the first week they were opened, and it’s safe to say that if ‘Franks’ isn’t rich, he’s headed that way.

So how does this mess everything up? KC Martin Franks had won 2 recreational retail marijuana license rankings when the lottery was held back in July: one in SODO and one in Ballard. Both of these neighborhoods saw more retail lottery winners than anywhere else in Seattle. Now that KC Martin Franks has partnered up with Ian Eisenberg and another business man, using the property Ian Eisenberg owned in the Central District, that means there will be one less shop in Ballard or SODO, than assumed.

Because SODO had the highest concentration of recreational marijuana retail lottery winners, we thought this neighborhood could potentially be the marijuana district of Seattle, and a perfect location for such a thing. In fact, shortly after the lottery was held, we took a trip down to SODO and explored the possibility. If the SODO address was used for Uncle Ike’s Pot Shop, then that would mean one less retail marijuana shop in the area. While SODO could still be a marijuana district, there is currently only one shop there now – Cannabis City – and who knows if other lottery locations haven’t been moved for one reason or another.

How this messes things up, is actually subjective as well. In the eyes of those who live in the Central District and Capitol Hill , this only makes things better, as their will soon be two recreational marijuana stores in the area when Mello Times opens. Unless if you are Mount Calvary Christian Center, then it makes everything a living hell.

Pot Shop of the Month (October 2014): Uncle Ike’s

November 3, 2014 By Manic Conrad

Uncle Ike’s Pot Shop became just the 2nd of four recreational marijuana stores in Seattle, when it opened its’ doors at the end of September in the Central District neighborhood. October was its’ first full month in operation, and it was an interesting and eventful one to say the least.

Uncle Ike’s came as a bit of a surprise, especially when Ian Eisenberg’s name surfaced as one of the owners, and his property on 23rd and Union would be the pot shop’s new home. Back in July, when the recreational marijuana retail lottery was held, Eisenberg was actually one of the lottery losers. But with a piece of prime real estate to his name and some wheeling dealing magic as we imagine, he became one of the owners.

The pot shop opened to a respectable amount of fanfare. Nothing like the frenzy that surrounded the opening of Cannabis City, Seattle’s first recreational marijuana store, but respectable. Since then, it has stayed true to one of its’ sales mottos: never out of stock and has recorded strong sales figures.

But the biggest news since their grand opening, is the protests by the Mount Calvary Christian Church next door. The church doesn’t agree with a pot store being so close to their facility, a church affiliated teen recreation center down the street, and a parklet nearby. In fact, just recently the church filed a lawsuit against Uncle Ike’s Pot Shop, the City of Seattle, and the Washington State Liquor Control Board. Despite all of this, Uncle Ike’s Pot Shop has been admirable in dealing with this situation and even befriending the church.

Not only has Uncle Ike’s Pot Shop already made a name for themselves in the Central District and Capitol Hill neighborhood, but we have people asking about the shop in areas outside of Seattle. This pot shop has been a welcome addition to the recreational marijuana industry. From their drive, their attitude, and their branding. Not only did they endure the grand opening madness, a massive protest, and a filing of a lawsuit, but they did it with flying colors. They are the HAS Pot Shop of the Month for October 2014.