I'm sort of confounded by this place. They've definitely upbranded successfully, it's got a modern clean look to it and the budtenders are generally much more professional and sophisticated than your average weed store. They know their stuff, certainly. It's a place you'd take a friend or relative curious about herb but not wanting to enter a patchouli soaked den of wookies.
My complaint isn't even the fact that it's crazy expensive - which it is, certainly, you're paying a premium for the Apple Store ambiance. That would be totally OK if they brought the heat consistently but unfortunately they just don't. The growers they feature are OK for the most part, like I get the appeal of Resin Ranchers' flower even if it smokes horribly. Northwest Artisan is one I've been pretty impressed with, and Deep Creek and High Noon are pretty well regarded in the generally weak OLCC grower portfolio. But if you're still charging $60 an eighth in this day and age, which seems insane to me, at least make sure the flower is fresh. I recently bought some weed there at top shelf prices that was harvested in February. Almost a year old at this point. That's nuts. I suspect the flower just isn't moving much at these prices, though there's been a few interesting things I've wanted that disappeared quickly.
Perhaps it's just flower that's overpriced and everything else is reasonable. I hesitate to criticize too much because it's a nice shopping experience and I like the crew, but dang, bring in some better flower and price it more reasonably so it stays fresh. I guess at the end of the day it's the sizzle, not the steak.
Also the "fresh drops" program is a good way to build interest and keep people coming through for the new new but often times even those are months old. I know that's part of the OLCC bureaucracy but most shops put up new flower frequently with no fanfare that's been tested a week or two before. I'd definitely go out of my way for amazing flower even at the inflated prices but nothing recently has been attractive enough for me to do so.
It's always busy though so what do I know!
