Cannabis legalization has offered Coloradans a conundrum from the very beginning: where can we smoke?
For a long time, there were no legal smoking areas in Colorado, and now that there finally are, they are few and far-between. Now that some public consumption is allowed, the fact that cannabis spaces can’t serve alcohol has turned off a lot of spaces that may have otherwise allowed social use, and the lack of legal combustion options for cannabis hasn’t helped. But Deen Wean’s Honeypot Lounge thinks they have the answer.
“Every time you come to the bar, you will always have a clean piece of glass clean to use,” explained Michael Polansky, one of the founders of the business. “Just like at any bar, if you step up to my bar, and I gave you some scotch, I wouldn’t put it in a dirty glass or ask you to pass it around to everyone afterwards. So, that’s sort of what we’re trying to do to level things up a little bit. There’s a really cool company called Pipe Dream, and they have a mobile, ultrasound glass cleaning unit that completely sanitizes everything, so they are like our Cintas.”
Essentially, the idea behind Honeypot is to have the experience of a bar, just with cannabis instead of alcohol.
Patrons can come up and vape at the bar, or they can take a cup of vapor to “sip” on as they walk around and enjoy the live music or other events that the venue will host. For now, until the laws change, there will be no alcohol on site, and there will be no cannabis smoking, only vaping.
Patrons bring in their own cannabis, and can share with friends new and old, but aren’t expected to bring their own glass. That will all be provided by the venue. There are a number of measures to ensure safety is adhered to, including a system of giving different-colored wristbands to patrons that indicate whether the guest is a seasoned smoker or a novice who needs to take it easy.
Named for Dean Ween of the band Ween, there is definitely somewhat of an agenda to include music at the venue. But, although Ween often get lumped in with the jam band crowd, Polansky is quick to point out that the venue is for everyone, not just a certain stereotype.
“The connection to Dean is great, and what we really want to do is put interesting people on bills together,” he explained. “Before the spot opened, we would all go to a lot of industry consumption events, and there just wasn’t this aspect of fun to them; I think that was missing. I didn’t see a lot of that fresh-faced joy that comes from music.”
In addition to welcoming in music of all kinds, the Honeypot Lounge will have a comedy night and is open to the idea of stoner drag shows, other live events, and entertainment and gatherings of all kinds. Essentially, they are looking to make their venue a community gathering spot, only one that centers around cannabis instead of alcohol.
They stress that members of the LGBTQ community and all people will be welcome to make their home here.
“Anyone is welcome. And we can make anyone feel comfortable. Whether you haven’t done this or if you’re a seasoned dab head, we can offer good service and make you feel at home.”
Check out Honeypot Lounge’s calendar to find out about upcoming events, or get in touch to book your next show.
Photo by Mark Adams
