The company that called themselves “the Uber of Weed” is going up in smoke, having blown through $250 million in venture capital but now announcing they’ll likely cease operations on December 31.
Back in 2018, the earliest days of legal, recreational marijuana, three companies stood out as so-called “unicorns” with close to a $1 billion valuation: the dispensary chain MedMen, the grower Flow Kana, and the delivery service Eaze. MedMen was valued at $1.8 billion, but as of this year, nearly all of their stores have closed. Flow Kana was advertising like mad with their $125 million in venture capital, but has since imploded and effectively no longer exists.
And then there’s the popular cannabis delivery service Eaze, once the so-called “Uber of Pot,” which was once valued at $700 million and had $255 million in venture capital from people like Snoop Dogg.
Eaze is reportedly shutting down https://t.co/9nV6nqKRhi
But KRON4 broke the news this weekend that the SF-based Eaze is in the process of closing entirely. The company’s CEO Cory Azzalino told KRON4 that “Eaze’s assets were sold at auction on August 6, 2024,” (trade publication Marijuana Business Daily reported this last week), and the new ownership company has decided to shut the operation down.
Here's the note that Eaze CEO Cory Azzalino sent to California employees:
"Due to ongoing challenges of the California cannabis market…"
The company is expected to close on December 31. pic.twitter.com/zymwhQxsgr
“I write to inform you of a difficult decision that Stachs LLC has made,” Azzalino said in an email to employees last week. “Due to the ongoing challenges of the California cannabis market, the company’s assets were foreclosed on by our lenders on August 6, 2024. Consequently, Stachs LLC will be winding down operations, with the full closure expected on or around December 31, 2024.”
Azzalino added in a comment to SFGate that there was some hope they the company could “be reopening under a new corporate structure potentially with new management, if it’s determined the new ownership group wants to keep it open.
SFGate also estimates that some 500 employees would be laid off once Eaze closes down.
Related: Debt-Ravaged Dispensary Chain MedMen Closing SF Store, They Claim ‘Temporarily’ [SFist]
Image: Eaze via Yelp
The only thing funnier than Elon Musk’s prepubescent jumping at a Donald Trump rally this weekend was a series of jokes made on Musk’s own Twitter mocking the awkward antics.
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Joe Kukura is an SFist staff asst. editor / reporter who has been published in almost every San Francisco publication, including Hoodline, SF Weekly, Thrillist, and Broke Ass Stuart.
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