L.A. Cannabis Cafe converted into drive-through during pandemic

America’s first cannabis cafe has been granted temporary permission to operate as a drive-through during the coronavirus pandemic. 

Located in West Hollywood, Los Angeles, the Original Cannabis Cafe is now allowing customers to pre-order food and cannabis online, which they can pick up in front of the restaurant.

Customers can also order in person in the cafe’s parking lot. All orders will be handed to customers by the cafe’s flower hosts, who disinfect the card readers on the spot after each payment. 

The restaurant, previously known as Lowell Farms: A Cannabis Cafe, first made headlines last October, when it opened its doors to both food and cannabis-lovers alike on La Brea Avenue.

However, as the global health crisis emerged, the Original Cannabis Cafe closed down initially as it had no takeout or delivery service. Meanwhile, other dispensaries in the area were deemed essential businesses by local officials and have remained open.    

“The city gave us temporary permission to operate as a medical and recreational dispensary until the emergency order ends. This allows us to sell cannabis alongside our full food menu in an In-N-Out, drive-through-like system,” the cafe’s co-founder Courtney Zalewski said. 

The OG Cannabis Cafe drive-through will work every day from 12:00 pm to 8:00 pm. No cannabis-infused foods are served at the cafe. 

The business says it has been taking all coronavirus safety precautions. All employees’ temperatures are checked before turning in for work, while the cafe implemented all the recommended social distancing guidelines within the establishment. Gloves and masks are worn by employees at “all times,” according to a press release. 

California’s cannabis dispensaries reported a huge boom in sales in March when stay-at-home orders were first introduced as a means of combating the rapidly-spreading COVID-19 disease. 

And while many other marijuana companies across the U.S. have been struggling to stay afloat amid the crisis that ravaged the economy, California has announced a set of measures to help businesses, which could support the pot industry as well. 

The measures include a 90-day extension for filing state tax returns less than $1 million and state funding for businesses that weren’t eligible for federal relief funds.