WALNUT CREEK, CA — The first fully permitted and licensed retail cannabis dispensary in Central Costa County quietly opened its doors in May in Martinez.

After a four-year wait, Velvet Cannabis opened at 4808 Sunrise Drive, near the state Highway 4 interchange with Interstate Highway 680.

Velvet Cannabis founders Matt Morea and Farid Harrison — both East Bay natives — sought to bring a refined retail experience to the area. The result, they say, is a sleek and sophisticated interior design, an expertly trained staff and a reliable menu of world-class cannabis.

“We are extremely excited to bring what we believe is an elevated experience in cannabis to the East Bay,” Morea said. “This region has been underserved for a long time, forcing people along the 680 corridor to drive to Berkeley, Oakland, San Francisco and beyond. We are not only giving them a place in their own backyard but have created a destination that is efficient, comfortable, and highly personalized.”

Morea had a career in corporate sales and management, while Harrison worked in tech sales and real estate. Anxious for a change, and with the impending legalization of recreational cannabis in California in 2018, they decided to get into the business of something they loved, and the vision of Velvet was born.

To get where they are now, employing a staff of 40, required much patience.

“We met the property owner in March of 2017 and we first submitted our application [to the city of Martinez] in September of 2017, and we were awarded a license in October 2019,” Harrison told Patch in a phone interview.

“We very specifically were looking in the city of Martinez, because we thought it was going to be one of the first municipalities to allow this,” Harrison said, referring to retail sale of marijuana.
California voters in 2016 approved the use, cultivation and possession of marijuana by adults under Prop. 64.

As of 2018, the retail sale and taxation of recreational marijuana has been legal.

Harrison said the pair specifically targeted Martinez as where they wanted to open up shop because the city has had a medical marijuana ordinance since 1996.

“So we found a property that we believed fit where one of those operations could go, and we presented it to them under the old form, but said we are going to wait until they craft an adult-use recreational ordinance,” Harrison said.

What followed was years of waiting until finally, Velvet and the city entered into a community benefit agreement through which the city regularly receives tax revenue payments.

“There were many a night we had doubts, but to be honest we kind of always felt like we would get it done, we really did,” Harrison said. “We are really happy to be in the community we are in.”

Velvet partnered with Walnut Creek’s BALI Construction and Alhambra Valley Millworks to build out an existing 2,500-square-foot industrial space.

To help conceptualize the interior, Morea and Harrison brought on Gi Paoletti Design Lab, a San Francisco-based interior designer with more than two decades of experience in mixed-use development, resort, restaurant, and bar design.

Leveraging the existing brand aesthetic of Velvet, Paoletti explored materials and hues that would tie the space together. The entryway welcomes guests with an air plant display of Velvet’s logo installed by Florali flower shop in Walnut Creek, owned by Harrison’s brother. Small window seats are interspersed among gray retail displays alongside the windows, bringing guests into the retail experience and making it easy to browse products or consult with a budtender.

“It is the first time I’ve used cannabis wallpaper in a space,” said Paoletti, whose design achievements include San Francisco’s Maven, Noir Lounge and Sushirrito restaurants, Rootstock in Los Gatos, and a private resort in Marin.

“It is classy, sophisticated, warm and adds a little intrigue – everything Velvet,” Paoletti said.
Morea, in the meantime, embarked on the cannabis sales end of it with Privateer Holdings and later CannaCraft, giving him an opportunity to learn about the cannabis supply chain.

“Cannabis enthusiasts, curious consumers, recreational and medicinal users will find a highly curated selection of the best lab-tested CBD and THC products at Velvet, organized as ‘good, better, and best’ when it comes to pricing,” Harrison and Morea said.

Velvet is open daily from 9 a.m. to 8 p.m. with online ordering for pick up until 7:30 p.m. daily. The team offers discounts for seniors over the age of 55, active military personnel and veterans. To shop at Velvet, customers must be 21 years old and have a valid California driver’s license or identification card.

“Velvet is excited to welcome the community into the retail space and is currently adhering to the best practices surrounding COVID-19 and social distancing guidelines set forth by Contra Costa County,” Harrison and Morea said.

via: https://patch.com/california/walnutcreek/walnut-creek-native-opens-martinez-cannabis-dispensary