In Finley, couple works to make marijuana shop just another errand stop

Steve and Jessy Lee just want their marijuana dispensary to be boring.

That is, the Tri-City couple wants their Finley shop to feel like any other business someone, especially women, would visit to treat themselves.

Something akin to a winery or maybe a salon, they said.

“Our whole role with Green2Go is to make this fresh, obtainable and safe,” Steve Lee said. “There’s no reason this should be salacious. This is a boring thing.”

Green2Go, now the closest recreational marijuana shop to the Tri-Cities, has seen increasing traffic since its soft opening about a month ago, its owners said. Customers are expected to spike with the recent grand opening on July 8 — the two-year anniversary of Washington state’s legalization of recreational marijuana.

The Lees are already moving forward with expansion plans at the shop and for two other sites elsewhere in Eastern Washington.

It’s been a long road to get here, though. The Lees adapted to changing rules and laws regarding marijuana in recent years, as well as the negative stereotype tied to it. It’s a stigma that was partially earned after decades of the substance selling on the black market, Steve Lee said.

But they are up to the challenge. They want to show how their business is no less legitimate than any other and can be a boon to everyone.

“It should be our job to explain how this isn’t a harm to our community,” Jessy Lee said.

Changing rules, business model

The Lees have been involved in the marijuana industry since 2012, when they started Green2Go as a walk-in medical marijuana dispensary in West Richland, where the moratorium on such businesses had lapsed.

However, only three weeks later the city reinstated the ban and the business was forced to close.

Green2Go then began operating as a medical marijuana delivery business, which was allowed at the time under state law.

The Lees had already started looking for another shop location when the state told them and other delivery businesses that state law would no longer permit their operation.

Shortly after that, they struck a deal with a private property owner to buy a couple parcels of land with a small house near the intersection of Highway 397 and Bowles Road, change the zoning and lease it to them.

Just another shop on the corner

There’s a small lighted sign hanging on the house’s front eave, and another emblazoned on the front of a fixed-up ‘72 Volkswagen flatbed truck. Out front is a simple gravel lot. No other big signs or displays advertise the shop or its wares.

Those entering are immediately asked for identification. The waiting room has two digital reader boards listing what’s for sale, both marijuana and marijuana-infused edibles. Customers can download the Green2Go iPhone app to view the shop’s stock on their phones.

Customers go through another ID check before entering the sales room, which is reinforced with cinderblocks and bars on its windows. IDs are computer-verified before any sale is complete. Customers exit through a side door to keep traffic moving smoothly.

“We have a line out the door 10 out of 13 hours we’re open a day,” Steve Lee said.

Some of the shop’s customers do trickle over to neighboring gas stations and a restaurant across the street.

Tina Austin, an employee of the Finley General Store just next door to Green2Go, said some of the shop’s customers stop in to purchase something or use the ATM, as Green2Go accepts only cash.

“We haven’t had any problems with them,” Austin said. “They’re actually pretty interesting.”

Changing the culture

The Lees haven’t had anyone picket the business since it’s been in Finley, they said. However, they acknowledge that marijuana still has some negative connotations despite being legalized by voters.

All cities in Benton and Franklin counties either have moratoriums or outright bans on marijuana-related businesses. Even businesses that have been allowed to begin operations in unincorporated areas have faced community scrutiny.

Larry Ayre, chairman of the Finley School Board, said he tried to raise concerns when Green2Go moved in a year ago and was only serving medical marijuana clients.

Ayre doesn’t know of any Finley youth getting access to marijuana because of the shop, but said he is concerned about legal marijuana being easier for kids to come in contact with.

He also raised the issue of people driving under the influence of marijuana when they pull out of the shop’s parking lot onto Highway 397.

“Alcohol’s a lot different than marijuana,” Ayre added, when asked whether he has the same concern with the restaurant on the other side of street serving alcohol.

The Lees agree that minors shouldn’t get their hands on any marijuana products. The state released on Wednesday a new warning symbol for use on marijuana-infused edibles to keep them away from children.

It’s their responsibility not to sell anything to children, while also informing people that they need to make sure it’s kept out of reach of young hands — just as someone would for any other potentially hazardous product, they said.

“If you wouldn’t leave a fifth of whiskey out, you shouldn’t leave your weed out,” Jessy Lee said.

Changing the culture is also important. Other dispensaries tend to look imposing, with dark colors and gritty décor, Steve Lee said. Green2Go went for earthtone and neutral colors to make rooms bright with sleek but simple displays.

While new employees still on probation earn minimum wage, permanent shop staff can earn between $30,000 and $40,000 per year and the Lees are looking to add employee benefits.

“Our model is to be way more Costco and less like Walmart,” Steve Lee said of employee recruitment and retention.

Expansion and acceptance

The Finley shop’s layout will likely change, Steve Lee said. He and his wife have applied for renovations that will double the number of registers and increase space for merchandise.

A side space dedicated to selling glass pipes and other paraphernalia, as well as helping people sign up for the state’s medical marijuana registry, is planned.

The Lees are pursuing another dispensary just off Interstate 90 northeast of Ritzville, and have a state license for a third location. They’ll need dozens more employees as the business grows.

Green2Go is the only place in southeast Washington where people can be added into the state’s medical marijuana registry with a doctor’s prescription, Jessy Lee said.

“I really believe this is something we need in society,” she said,

As she and her husband work to educate people about their business and normalize, they see progress in showing their business is as normal as any other.

Green2Go was recently granted a cannabis bank account through Numerica Credit Union, a move that opens up the possibility of better protecting the shop’s finances and ability to grow.

This story was originally published July 13, 2016 at 5:06 PM with the headline "In Finley, couple works to make marijuana shop just another errand stop."