Social Equity Rules Proved the Remedy for This Denver Dispensary

The southeastern corner of Denver is low on retail cannabis, and a new dispensary at 1052 South Quebec Street is out to remedy that.

Green Remedy opened in the Virginia Vale neighborhood on November 21. The family enterprise is owned by longtime Denver entrepreneur Curtis Washington, with his son, Jordan Brooks, overseeing the daily operations. Although Washington had leased one of his properties to a dispensary years ago, he'd never participated in Colorado's cannabis industry — but Jordan had.

Washington finally applied for a Denver dispensary license after some coaxing from his son, and admits he's even learned a thing or two about the plant since they opened the business. The experienced businessman has also shown Denver's cannabis space something new, opening Green Remedy in the same building as his recently acquired liquor store. Although they're right next to each other and under the same roof, the dispensary and liquor store have different addresses. The unique distinction has already helped lure in customers, and the combo seems particularly smart when you're facing after-work errands during rush hour.

We recently caught up with Washington to talk about his new venture.

Westword: What made you want to open a dispensary?

Curtis Washington: Just looking for opportunities to do business. I've been in all kinds of businesses, from clothing stores to stores at the airport. I've had kiosks at Park Meadows Mall, too, but they closed after 9/11.

Reading the rules regarding social equity [in cannabis], I realized I could qualify. From reading the newspaper, I knew that cannabis was big business in Colorado, so I thought I might as well try to qualify. It's a family-owned operation. My son, Jordan Brooks, runs the store and oversees the operation.

Is this the first time you two have worked together?

We have a liquor store at the same location. As a matter of fact, we bought the liquor store with the purpose of building out the dispensary. He's been running the liquor store since we bought it in February of this year. You walk into the vestibule, and you can go left into the dispensary or you can go straight ahead into the liquor store.

Sounds like a one-stop shop.

It turned out to be [laughs]. I might've done the same concept if it were a laundromat, but it turns out that the liquor store being there really worked out. We've been open there since November 21, and we're already seeing more traffic in the liquor store from the dispensary since the dispensary opened.

I had to demonstrate with some people at the city that we could be under the same building with a separate address and two units, because it's the same as a strip mall. They have separate entrances and exits. I don't want to sound like I don't have humility, but I was told by many people with experience in this business that I couldn't do a liquor store and dispensary under the same roof.

Compared to your other businesses in the past, how hard was it to open a cannabis business?

It was less difficult than the airport store, because the airport had all of the regulations and excessive things during the buildout. It was more expensive and time-consuming at the airport, but once it was done, all I had to do was get apparel and sell it. With the dispensary, the buildout is just phase one. You still need the health department and everyone else to review and inspect — but the airport was far more complicated than any store I've had.

Did you have any worries about opening a new dispensary, given the current market climate of legal cannabis?

I did, especially during the first four or five days. I was wondering what the hell I had done [laughs]. But I'd gone through the tunnel, and now that I'm in, the only way out is the other way. And now that I'm out, oh, boy. But we've done some marketing since, and liquor-store customers, word of mouth and aggressive prices have moved us forward. We can only go up from zero customers, and things have gotten better.

What's working with your son been like? Has he taught you a few things about cannabis?

He's taught me some things about cannabis. He's more motivated than he's ever been in his life. If I'd known that, I'd have opened a dispensary ten years ago [laughs]. And he's stepped up to this opportunity. It's been great.

What do you want to get out of this venture?

We expect to be able to make a profit and give back to the community in a measurable way. We also intend to create more stores and create a legacy that my heirs can have the option of continuing or not.