The media, restaurant professionals and cannabis consumers have heralded The Original Cannabis Cafe for blazing a new trail, offering cannabis for sale in an upscale restaurant with a wholly original menu.

The restaurant also has the distinction of having a black woman as executive chef, something not frequently seen (yet) in the cannabis industry although the industry has a great opportunity to foster equality. Chef Andrea Drummer told Vogue in an interview that the industry could use more people of color and she was more than happy to become a pioneer in this area.

“I think that I’ve always been rather bold and not deterred by perception or what should be an obstacle,” Drummer said. “You know that these things exist, you know that both the cannabis and culinary industry lack black and brown faces in leadership positions. But once I believed in what I was doing I just moved forward in that.”

First of Its Kind in Los Angeles and the U.S.

Drummer received one of only eight licenses granted by Los Angeles for restaurants and lounges that also sell cannabis. The Original Cannabis Café opened in late 2019 (it was first called Lowell Cafe).

Drummer is author of “Cannabis Cuisine: Bud Pairings of a Born Again Chef” and also is CEO of Elevation VIP Cooperative. The catering company has a medical marijuana dispensary license and caters marijuana-infused dinners.

She can’t do that at The Original Cannabis Cafe. Food is instead paired with cannabis, which you can order and is brought to your table. The law allows her to sell marijuana at the restaurant, but not cook it directly into the food.

However, most places don’t allow cannabis consumption at all in public places. That makes the Original Cannabis Cafe, well, original.

What Can You Get at The Original Cannabis Cafe?

The menu at The Original Cannabis Cafe includes many types of fries (French, Parmesan-herb, sweet potato and vegan), tacos, nachos and homemade corn dogs. Entrees include Smash Burgers, Vegan Caesar wrap and pulled pork.

The restaurant also has a brunch on the weekends that offers cheese griddled breakfast burritos, steak frites, brioche French toast and red beans and rice. If this eclectic fare is a foreshadowing of what cannabis cafes will offer, it’s going to be a tasty adventure for customers.

The restaurant also has a 12-page menu of cannabis products. They include pre-rolled joints and edibles.

Drummer said she is already thinking about what she can do next with cannabis. She told Vogue that she is considering a traveling cannabis show. The show could travel to states with and without legalization and educate people about the use of cannabis in cooking.

Drummer said, “’A great part of my work has been the educational component, educating consumers and nay-sayers and doubters, and people who still have the misconception that cannabis is a bad thing.”