The Honey Pot Lounge Closes, Leaving Denver With One Consumption Venue

Dean Ween's Honey Pot Lounge, one of only two licensed marijuana consumption venues in Denver, has been closed since May 24. The place could reopen — but if it does, it might be without any connection to the Ween frontman.

According to Denver Vape and Play, which holds the lease on the space at 1753 South Broadway and owns the social pot consumption license, the contract with the Honey Pot Lounge ended in May. Both sides say they're negotiating a new deal, but the doors remain locked.

It's been a long, strange trip for the Honey Pot Lounge and Vape and Play, neither of which managed to stay open at that address for more than two months. Vape and Play became Denver's second licensed social pot use lounge in February, but it closed a month later. Soon after, the backers of the Honey Pot Lounge, who'd already suffered through several application mishaps on other spaces around town, agreed to use Vape and Play's building and social consumption license. (Denver's social pot consumption licenses cannot be sold or transferred.)

The new partnership seemed to be going smoothly in the beginning, with the lounge bringing in Dean Ween for the grand opening right before 4/20; after that, it held various pot-friendly events for comedy, cartoon and music lovers. The partnership with Vape and Play began to sour last month, though, and the Honey Pot Lounge sent emails to its members — patrons who paid an early fee for special access and events at the venue — announcing that the membership perks were being put on hold. The lounge then closed indefinitely on May 24, according to the Honey Pot Lounge's Facebook page, citing interior and ventilation upgrades.

However, on June 3 Vape and Play announced that it was looking for a new partner for the space, calling the Honey Pot Lounge a "pop up" in a press release. Vape and Play co-owner Megan Lumpkins said that she was looking forward to finding a new collaborator for the address, which comes equipped with that marijuana consumption license.

But shortly after the Vape and Play announcement was released, both Lumpkins and Honey Pot Lounge CEO Michael Polansky said they were back in negotiations and could reopen the venue soon under a new agreement.

And where does Ween fit in going forward? His representatives didn't get back to us, and the Honey Pot Lounge declined to comment on its connection to the musician.