Add a few more to the twists and turns it has taken to get to Capitol Hill’s first pot shop. Meanwhile, the City of Seattle also is ready to propose new zoning rules around where pot shops can be located.
Earlier this week, CHS reported that after a year in limbo, Samuel Burke finally received his I-502 license to open Tok at 15th Ave E and E Republican inside the space formerly occupied by Angel’s Shoe Repair.
It was an unexpected move form the state Liquor and Cannabis Board, as a video arcade across the street appeared to be preventing Burke from opening. According to state regulations, an I-502 retailer can’t open within 1,000-foot radius of a place where children typically gather, including arcades.
The city says Capitol Hill Family Arcade owner Ian Eisenberg never obtained an arcade permit.
“The City of Seattle informed the LCB that while the arcade has a business license they do not have all of the requisite permits to be considered an actual arcade and asked us to issue Tok a license,” LCB spokesperson Mikhail Carpenter told CHS. “Because the City of Seattle does not recognize the business as a bona fide arcade, the LCB issued the license to Tok.”
Eisenberg told CHS he wasn’t aware of the permit issue.
Eisenberg, who owns Uncle Ike’s pot shop at 23rd and Union, purchased the arcade building while Burke was making plans to open Tok in the same space. Eisenberg said he opened the arcade as a convenient placeholder while he waited for the next window to submit an I-502 application to open a second Uncle Ike’s location. Uncle Ike’s is a CHS advertiser.
In the meantime, the City is moving ahead with reducing the marijuana business buffer zone after the Legislature granted more local authority over pot zoning earlier this year. Under the Seattle proposal, the 1,000-foot rule would stay for schools and playgrounds, but would be reduced to 500 feet for places like child care centers, libraries, parks, and video arcades.
The city is also recommending that the Puget Sound Clean Air Agency be given the authority to set odor control standards for marijuana production and processing.
That’s what Eisenberg tried to do – not outcompete, out rules lawyer.
Wait, the state board issues a permit to one applicant but not another who’s across the street, and this means, the one who hasn’t received a permit isn’t trying to compete? What?
The city asks the state board to issue a permit to one applicant (that doesn’t appear to have any parking) but not another right across the street who has on site parking. Huh? Parking is already tight nearby. I guess city’s position is, not our problem.
Eisenberg cynically tried to use the arcade as an excuse to prevent Tok from opening. Are you high already?
I kinda like this neighborhood more with fewer parking lots.
Why on earth does such a thing as an “arcade permit” even exist?
Arcades were actually considered a real nuisance in the 80s in some communities. Shady characters just loved that pacman action I guess…
The fact that Eisenberg did this makes me not want to support Uncle Ike’s.
I agree. Shady. I like what Eisenberg has done at Union and 23rd, but there was no need for this. What goes around comes around, and now you have options.
And let’s not forget that when Eisenberg bought the building, Capitol Hill Animal Clinic was kicked out after having been in that location and serving the neighborhood for 30 years. There were a number of spaces for lease on 15th, but Eisenberg wanted a place with parking, so bought the building and landlord tossed CHAC out. And now it’s all for nothing as he won’t even be opening a pot shop in that space, so that didn’t work out for anyone except the previous owner of the building. Nice work. I will happily shop at Tok instead of Uncle Ike’s.
These people are not even considering that TOK displaced a business that had been on that block for 74 years. I feel there is bias on several of these comments.
The shoe place was a waste of space.
Very rude, Carrie. Do you not know that Ray Angel was the owner of that shoe shop?
While I agree it is sad, I would argue that a vet is more important than a shoe repair shop. I can’t imagine that place was THAT busy?
Also, it will be interesting to see what Ian does now. Will he stick with a Full Tilt and a new space for Angel’s or..???
Lastly, I agree with the above posters that this kind of business practice has turned me off of Ike’s for good and I will be advising my friends to do the same. It may be legal but that doesn’t make it any less shady.
Eh, the Angel’s was so packed floor to ceiling with crap that it barely functioned as a shoe repair shop, and while this is anecdotal, every time I tried to bring shoes there over the years, he was shooting the shit next door at the mailbox place and unavailable for service. The history is admirable, but Broadway Shoe Repair is staffed by a bunch of baller ladies and one weird owner, and they have awesome customer service. Sometimes a business has to go.