“Our customer satisfaction is very high, no pun intended,” said Loopr chief executive officer and founder Bryan Spatz with a chuckle. The former real estate developer hit on an idea in 2014 to launch a legal, roving cannabis consumption lounge, but he had his work cut out for him to navigate the maze of legal and compliance issues. First, he addressed health and safety issues by designing a series of barriers and protections for the security and comfort of the driver and passengers. Only then did he apply to the Colorado Public Utility Commission for licensing as a regulated transportation carrier. “This required proving a public need which had not been satisfied in every county we sought to operate in,” said Spatz. After a public hearing and some negotiations, his transportation carrier, “High Style Travel,” was approved as a “hop on/hop off” transportation service that is able to allow cannabis consumption onboard.
Last year’s 4/20 celebrations took Loopr to the next level as people in Colorado and around the cannabis community began to experience the traveling lounge in full action. “It was absolutely insane,” Spatz said. “Our reservation system was not in place yet and we were oversold by a factor of 10. As the only legal venue for cannabis consumption in Denver over a weekend when 60,000 tourists visited the city for cannabis festivities, we were at maximum capacity pretty much the entire weekend. It was a blast.”
Expectations were high this year, too. A four day event—“4 Days of 420”— offered many options, including a Grow Tour Thursday at noon followed by the first Bud Crawl (a tour to two of the city’s finest dispensaries) of the weekend. Friday, 4/20, and Saturday, 4/21, featured a special Party Loop every 2.5 hours that left from one of Loopr’s route partners, Purple Haze on E. Colfax, and journeyed to a single dispensary before returning back to the starting point. Another Bud Crawl Sunday was followed by the regular hop on/hop off shuttle route that Loopr is famous for.
Brands signed up early and seats went fast, said Spatz. Dispensaries included in the traveling lounge stops included The Green Solution, Seed & Smith, Smokin’ Gun, Cannabis Station, Ballpark Holistic, Colorado Harvest, Levels, Lucy Sky, Mighty Tree, Northern Lights and Life Flower. Other brands Loopr has partnered with include Dixie, Endocanna, Vapium, Double Black, Biker Jim’s Gourmet Dogs, and Purple Haze Smoke Shop.
A brand manager referred to the the bus as the ultimate mobile cannabis lounge, and he wasn’t exaggerating. A special experience awaits passengers soon as they pass through the sliding door into the passenger cabin, where four booths with granite counter tops are set up, each equipped with its own dab rig and e-nail, a bong and dab bar with custom glass pieces in the back, and electrical and USB outlets at every seat. Other accoutrements include three huge monitors displaying curated multimedia music video sets and 13 smaller screens displaying advertising and route information, fiber optic lighting, a refrigerator for refreshments, and a lavatory. The bus also features patent-pending technology that protects the driver from second hand smoke exposure and provides beefed-up ventilation to maximize rider comfort,
Spatz says things are going so well he sees Loopr becoming the first nationally recognized cannabis (adjacent) brand. He also is in talks in West Hollywood, California and Massachusetts to develop mobile lounges. “We need to clear some regulatory and lobbying hurdles, but intend to open operations there as soon as we can gain approval,” he said. “And with Canadian legalization on the horizon, Loopr is planning to expand to our northern neighbors in late 2018 or early 2019.”
For reservations and pricing packages: RideLoopr.com
