Despite years of turmoil, from sales declines to thousands of licensed businesses going under, illicit market competition and countless other hurdles, serial cannabis entrepreneur Dave Spradlin thinks there’s still hope for small companies to carve out successful niches. And he’s trying to prove that with a new small retail chain in Northern California focused solely on craft cannabis from the Emerald Triangle.

Spradlin obtained a distressed dispensary in the aptly named town of Weed in Siskiyou County and began sourcing directly from small farmers in Humboldt, Mendocino and Trinity counties for his shop, which he dubbed Goldenhour. And he worked fiercely to keep costs down to see if he could turn a profit in the notoriously difficult business landscape.

“Goldenhour is either the bright new light of a new day, or it’s the last light of the night before the night,” Spradlin said. “So we’re going to give ’em hell until we figure out which path that ends up being.”

Small farmers have been largely left out of any success in the legal California marijuana trade, which has contracted drastically since new state rules went into effect in 2018. But Spradlin said there’s still arguably the best cannabis in the world being grown in the region, value that hasn’t been fully tapped.

Spradlin believes that his experience – he got started in the California marijuana trade back in 2009 and has been part of at least five cannabis companies, including as CEO of Sacramento-based chain Perfect Union – will allow him to build a platform to showcase those small growers, for both their benefit and his.

So far, it’s worked out. Since Spradlin reopened the newly rebranded Goldenhour store in Weed on April 17, 2024, sales are up 300%.

“It was definitely a big turnaround,” Spradlin said, and things are “going great” for the shop. He’s even planning a second location in the town of Point Arena in Mendocino County. He’s been carrying flower and other products from about 30 farms in the Emerald Triangle, but that’s likely to grow, as more consumers find out about the craft-focused business model.

Spradlin emphasized that he’s neither the first nor only California cannabis retailer to choose such a niche, and said others are finding similar success catering to marijuana connoisseurs that want top quality and rare strains.

“There’s other businesses that are doing similar concepts to what we’re doing … Woody Harrelson’s spot down in (West Hollywood), they have a whole section of the store that’s dedicated to craft small mom-and-pop farmers,” he noted. He also called out a delivery operator in Sacramento, Zen Life Organics, that is also primarily focused on craft marijuana.

“People love it, and I can give (craft cannabis) to the consumer at a significantly discounted rate. I can compete with any of the big boys that are vertically integrated on price,” Spradlin said. “It makes total sense, and it feeds into what’s a huge growing category across the board in every consumer category, which is conscious consumerism. People want to buy stuff that makes them feel good. They don’t want to buy some mass produced trash if they can avoid it – and if they can afford it. And we’re trying to hit both those marks.”

Spradlin believes one of the reasons for his success is also a slow and cautious approach to growth, a strategy that is in stark contrast to the widespread business philosophy across California just a few years ago of going as big as possible as fast as possible. That approach led to a lot of company failures and financial losses, Spradlin recalled, as industry insiders struggled to adapt to the harsh new regulations, taxes and competition once the state put rules in place seven years ago.

But now, Spradlin said, he believes there’s a light at the end of the tunnel. He’s seen more companies pivot and stabilize in recent times and figure out strategies that have given them at least a semblance of sustainability.

“It’s California. It’s a huge state. It’s huge market, one of the biggest markets in the world. It’s going to be fine. There’s going to be room for us. That’s why we’re trying to carve out our niche, and I think there’s going to be many other versions of Goldenhour and small mom-and-pop businesses that can thrive,” Spradlin said.

Difficulties acknowledged, Spradlin said there are pathways to success in California cannabis already today. They’re just very, very narrow, and thus few and far between.

“You have to be locked in to a very narrow view of what you’re trying to accomplish,” Spradlin said. “And what I’m trying to accomplish is create a platform to highlight what I believe is the best cannabis in the world grown by the best farmers in the world. And if I can successfully execute that, that’s a winning formula.”