Founder Real Talk: Highway DTLA
This new South Central dispensary opened May 15 with AAA Lucha Libre wrestling, free tacos, and dank-ass vibes. We sat down for a Q & A about the business, their people and some of their favorite products.
What sets Highway DTLA apart from the competition?
We work really closely with our brands. We don’t just buy what’s hot or new. We do that AND build relationships with the companies we work with. We don’t want someone to just drop off their products. We want to know what movements are happening before they happen. That’s how we stay on top of trends. We constantly have our ears to the ground and stay focused.
What are your Top 5 Product recommendations?
Top 5 products for us right now are:
Wyld gummies - You can never go wrong with those Pear CBG gummies to feel really nice. It gives off that first time high feeling, it’s incredible.
Must Be Nice x Trilogy x Loaded x Roll BMC preroll - PHEW say that 5 times fast! This preroll collab is one for the books. Brings that nice traditional market flavor with recreational rolls brought to you by Roll BMC himself. They take hash and homogenize it into the preroll giving you a donut vibe without the middle hole. It’s such a smooth burn!
Papa and Barkley creams - A MUST for anyone going through soreness in the body. Their tinctures are next level, they’ve been around for many, many years AND they’re the closest thing to medicinal cannabis products.
Runway Gardens - [This is] a company we work closely with. They’re based in Santa Rosa and harvest for wines, as well as fruits and vegetables for some of the major grocery stores! They have a unique story and we love that.
Terphogz vape pens - [These] are NEXT LEVEL. They come from up north as well. Tony, Jondo and Fieldz kill the game with their original Z strain. Taking that into vape pens, and soon coming out with a rosin pen that will blow your mind.
Who are your customers?
Our demographic is pretty unique. The products and services we offer make our base really diverse.
We have regular, local folks coming in just trying to make it to the next day, and we offer great brands like Smoakland and Cannatrust for them. Brands like those really know how to look out for those customers and we’re so thankful for that.
We also have price hunters from Weedmaps. If you’re in the downtown area and we carry a product, we’re pretty competitive with pricing and you’ll see our name come up a lot.
We have those strain hunters as well! Now those customers will travel [from] far and wide to receive not only the customer service we offer, but will also clear our shelves because of how unique the strain or brand is.
We find benefits for everyone. For the younger user, it could mean fun or just a social time or maybe getting rid of some anxiety. People that are older could benefit from CBD mixed items as older people do have more inflammation.
We’re for all types in all walks of life!
What are your top 3 Strains right now?
Oooof, this is a tough one!
First off I’ll start with Jellyfish by Glass House. Why wouldn’t we recommend some fire CBD flower, that you can graciously pair with some full THC flower to get the full pain relief benefits?
Our second favorite has to be Bubblegum Popperz from Super Dope. If you got your hands on that flower… I don’t even need to say much more than that!
And our third right now would have to be our own Highway brand. We white label and source some of the best flower we can find on the market.
Do you have any star employees who deserve a shout out?
I’d love to shout out Derek C who does rolling for Paradise Smokes (a sister company of ours). He came to us while there was down time for rolling, so now he’s got two great jobs with the same family! We love you D!
Our in-house connoisseur Christos K. (@waxxmusic) comes all the way from beautiful Miami and he knows his terps ya’ll. He constantly keeps us on our strain toes and we wouldn’t have it any other way!
Shane B. (@shugg88) comes from the Brando family if you guys are familiar with The Godfather! He is also a master grower and has grown for major companies like Aims!
Any parting thoughts?
Our story is quite simple. We’re a family-run business with a social equity license. We’ve had to fight our way toward opening a legal shop post ’trap shop’ and Prop 215 days, but we are thrilled to be bringing our favorite brands to South Central. We love cannabis. Come by so we can share the love for this plant with you and educate you on what you may not know about cannabis!
I see us flourishing here. We want to continue to give back to the community by bringing more events down this way, and an all-around more welcoming vibe to an area that’s not really sought out normally.
