The so-called “green zone” in downtown Los Angeles’s Arts District is home to some of the most popular legacy names in flower. Jungle Boys, Traditional, and Wonderland all operate thriving retail stores that move their products at a modest price point, serving a connoisseur audience that has been enjoying some of the best weed in the world for decades. The most recent addition to the mix is Coast to Coast, the retail brand belonging to OG cultivator 3C Farms. The expansive store is a classy shrine to the cultivator’s popular bud.
The location is artfully housed in a spectacular early-twentieth-century industrial building that, in its previous life, was a humble onion factory. In 1979, printer and collector Jean Robert Milant transformed the space into the Cirrus Gallery, which proved instrumental to the neighborhood’s transition into a haven for artists.
“The building itself holds a deep history and has excellent architectural bones,” said Roxanne Dennant Mograbi, chief marketing officer for Coast to Coast and 3C Farms. In particular, she pointed out the location’s industrial windows, epoxied floor, and exposed cement, steel, and brick. “We really wanted to keep those features and honor the essence of the Arts District and downtown LA.”
(All images by Asia Taber)
As customers enter the large foyer area, they are met with branded installations and a space that soon will house a rotating collection of limited-edition glassware from local blowers and artisans. In the far corner lies a comfortable waiting area featuring a cluster of elegant chesterfield chairs under arresting bud erotica.
The expansive, open-plan shop floor houses inventory behind a perimeter of black lacquered oak countertops. Sparingly lit high ceilings show off the concrete beams and jet-black HVAC ducts, while natural light pushes its way through large, frosted windows framed by the customary exposed brick. In the center of the room, house plants billow down a pair of sturdy rusted girders, their upright forms emerging from a pair of sleek, discreet drawers.
An intriguing “show grow” runs along one wall, housing up to 160 plants in two or three strains at any given time. When mg dropped in to visit, Purple Nepal and Anunnaki OG displayed dense, sprouting colas that swayed in a gentle fan breeze and basked in the LED light. Integrating the inviting glow of a show grow into the retail experience is becoming a hallmark of Coast to Coast as the brand expands into new locations. The original store in Canoga Park, California, also puts the cultivator’s herb on full display through a small window on the retail sales floor.
As consumers might expect, Coast to Coast sells primarily 3C Farms flower. The top-shelf product at mid-shelf prices is so popular it’s difficult for other flower brands to thrive in the store.
“It’s really hard to sell other people’s great weed,” said Mograbi, highlighting an issue that occurs when stores become known for their house brand. She explained Coast to Coast and nearby Traditional stocked one another’s product but ultimately couldn’t move it because their base comes for each brand’s flower at the lower price point.
While 3C Farms is the big mover in the flower category, Coast to Coast also stocks Gold Flora, Maven Genetics, and Lolo’s ground weed. Additionally, the shop is betting on hash and concentrates continuing to rise in popularity and has invested in a well-stocked hash bar with a shelf dedicated to Puffco’s popular portable dab rigs. One of the marquee products comes from Heritage Hash Company, which claims to be the world’s first public hashery.
Next to the hash bar is a regal 100-year-old wine fridge stocked with a selection of beverages including Tinley’s, Ooh La La, and Uncle Arnie’s. The mixologist’s bar set up in front of the fridge further enhances the speakeasy vibe of the space.
The store also stocks a curated selection of edibles, including its own brand, Tabs, a not-so-subtle nod to LSD. “They’re super fun. They look like a little hit of acid,” said Mograbi. “We infuse them with cannabinoids and adaptogenic nootropic mushrooms. These little strips incorporate reishi, cordyceps, chaga, and lion’s mane. People love them.”
Elsewhere, the store stocks a variety of wellness products led by its in-house topical brand Opi-Not. A rentable shop-in-shop area in the back allows brands to mount installations and takeovers.
Art and photography play a central role throughout the store, which Mograbi explained is an homage to the space’s past as a gallery. The far end of the store has paintings from renowned LA street artists Vyal and RISK, and the building is next to the Wisdome, an experiential event space that hosts psychedelic projection-mapping, making it a popular pre-event pit stop — or a retail partner for events that permit consumption. In July 2021, before Coast to Coast opened the Arts District location, the brand used its delivery license to facilitate onsite-ish sales for brands participating in an event by LA weed cool kids Hazy.
With 2022 tourism expected to hit 91 percent of 2019 levels and the sector’s protected return to pre-pandemic levels by 2023, Mograbi anticipates the show grow being a major draw for LA visitors looking for a real Southern California cannabis experience.
“When tourists first see the plant in our show grow, they just stare at it,” she said. “Most people only ever interact with the end product, but what we’re seeing is they really love getting up close with the plant as she’s growing. We want to offer that as part of the experience at the store.”
She added Coast to Coast will host tours of its upstairs grow rooms in the near future, and those also will become part of the wholesale strategy for 3C Farms.
“Not every shop has a cultivation license, so we know a lot of budtenders have never seen a clone or learned how to drop buckets or trim,” Mograbi added. “We can show them how we produce our flower and then send them home with some fresh product in their hand. We really feel like that’s an important contribution to the industry.”
