If there was ever a day to celebrate the opening of Chula Vista’s first, legal cannabis storefront, it was Tuesday on 4/20 – the nationally recognized day for cannabis culture.
Grasshopper Dispensary, located at 376 Trousdale Drive, welcomed dozens of customers after two years of prep and five months after the company launched Grasshopper Delivery, which delivers cannabis products to South County residents. The delivery business marked the first legal commercial operation in the city.
“I’m beyond excited, extremely proud to be able to be the first to bring you high-quality, high-testing quality cannabis and cannabis products here to my neighbors in the Chula Vista community,” said founder and CEO Andres Camberos, a Chula Vista native who also owns a national chain of grocery companies. “The days of needing to buy cannabis in back alleys and shady locations, untested cannabis, unregulated edibles are over. We have everything you need here.”
Victor Ukpe (l) helps Mick Fryhoff (r) purchase cannabis products at the Grasshopper Dispensary on Tuesday, April 20, 2021.
(Nelvin C. Cepeda/The San Diego Union-Tribune)
Grasshoppers’ services are available to recreational customers 21 and up and medical patients 18 and older throughout the South Bay. The dispensary is bringing more than 20 jobs to local residents and an undisclosed portion of all proceeds are expected to go toward Chula Vista community programs, Camberos added.
The brick-and-mortar retail dispensary is the first of up to 12 cannabis businesses, or three per each of the four council districts, allowed to operate in the city, according to Chula Vista’s municipal code. As of Tuesday, each district had multiple applications underway for anything from storefronts to manufacturing and testing, according to the city.
“Everything outside of retail storefront and non-storefront delivery are in various phases of building, doing tenant improvements, or have requested an extension,” said city spokeswoman Anne Steinberger. “COVID-19 impacted a number of business from moving forward until things stabilize a bit more.”
Grasshopper Dispensary and Delivery are the first to open in Chula Vista since voters approved a special sales tax measure in 2018 and the city completed its recreational cannabis ordinance, which lays out the rules for where and how businesses can operate. For example, Grasshopper, a storefront located in an industrial zone, had to be 1,000 feet from any school, 600 feet from any public park and 150 feet from any residential zone.
“It’s just really a beautiful, clean, safe environment and I know that everyone will consume safely and with caution,” said Mayor Mary Casillas Salas.
Chula Vista had dozens of illegal dispensaries in operation when the City Council created its cannabis ordinance in an effort to disrupt that market. Over the past three years, the Chula Vista Police Department closed down approximately 74 illegal cannabis operations, Steinberger said.
The grand opening attracted several Chula Vista residents who formed a waiting line that snaked outside the gated property, which was surrounded by security guards. Many visitors said they were excited to have a shop in their city without having to travel to San Diego.
“It’s a lot more convenient and it’s really great to finally have a place that’s close by versus going somewhere as far as Market Street,” said Chula Vista resident Alyssa Navarro. “Finally having a dispensary that I can trust and has high reviews and that a bunch of people that I know that also go to this place is super exciting.”
Camberos said that while he envisions the company expanding with other storefronts, the shop on Trousdale Drive is currently the priority.
