One of Denver’s pioneering cannabis lounges is preparing to close next month, but the owner promises a new and “upgraded” version of the concept will reemerge in a different location.
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Tetra Lounge will vacate its space at 3039 Walnut St. in the River North Arts District on Aug. 10 at the conclusion of its lease, according to a statement. Opened in 2018, the business allows guests who pay an entry fee to smoke weed onsite and also hosts events like joint-rolling instructional classes.
In the years since Tetra Lounge made its debut, Colorado’s laws governing so-called marijuana “hospitality” establishments have changed significantly. As a result, owner Dewayne Benjamin has changed his business model.
Originally, Tetra Lounge allowed people to smoke inside because it operated as a private club. That designation enabled it to sidestep the Colorado Clean Indoor Air Act, which bans smoking in most public, indoor spaces. However, when the city of Denver opted to create and allow for a new category of “marijuana hospitality” establishments, the lounge was required to apply for a new license — and meet the building codes that go along with it.
That’s why, in recent years, Tetra Lounge took the party outside and built a “consumption garden” for people to smoke bowls, joints, and dabs al fresco.
Part of the reason it is moving locations is to have a space that better suits such a unique business. Its current building in RiNo dates back to 1921 and can’t support the infrastructure necessary “to support Tetra’s operational needs or the continued growth of the cannabis hospitality model,” spokesperson Ru Diaz-Johnson said by email.
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Rather than invest significantly in the current space, Tetra Lounge is opting to move. The new location will be “an upgraded version of the original model,” with stronger infrastructure and amenities, Diaz-Johnson said.
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Details about where the new space will be and when it will open are not currently available, but Benjamin remains committed to having a brick-and-mortar gathering place for cannabis enthusiasts — even if he hasn’t had the easiest road in doing so.
Earlier this year, Tetra Lounge was fined $10,000 after allegedly allowing unlawful activity to occur during special events. (Benjamin has denied the allegations.) Denver officials had also previously scrutinized and ticketed the business for its operations in the interim between being licensed as a private club and a hospitality establishment.
Tetra now has “the opportunity to apply everything it has learned — including the operational and regulatory lessons — to build a more efficient, sustainable and scalable experience. The goal is to honor the foundation of the original Tetra while creating greater flexibility for events, brand activations and future growth,” Diaz-Johnson said.
“For the past nine years, Tetra Lounge has helped lead the evolution of cannabis hospitality in Denver by breaking new ground within this emerging market. None of that would have been possible without the welcoming community and loyal supporters who have believed in Tetra from the beginning,” Benjamin said in a statement. “We’re incredibly proud of what we’ve built, and even more excited to carry that legacy forward as we enter our next chapter.”
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