Owner Randy Wells, a self-proclaimed entrepreneur, first visited Alaska in Dutch Harbor and later opened a fishing charter in Seward. According to Wells, his interest in cannabis was recreational when he was younger but became a business interest in the early 2000s “when the state of Alaska started moving towards the legalization of recreational sales.”
That’s when he and his wife made Seward their full-time residence. Only full-time residents of the state may own any portion of the cannabis industry licensing.
“We did our two years here and then started our first application process in 2017, opened our downtown Seward dispensary in February of 2019,” said Wells.
Wells, who already owns one on-site consumption facility in Seward, said the process of opening this new lounge was slightly more arduous than the first. “The process took about two years for Soldotna, and it took just about a year and a half for Seward. Not only are there the standard barriers to entry for opening the dispensary. There’s additional barriers of entry to get the license for the on-site consumption, such as ventilation, safe employee monitoring so that they’re not inhaling smoke and things like that.”
Although Alaska was the first state to legalize on-site consumption (there are now 11), several others actually opened consumption lounges first.
Wells is already expanding the business to include outdoor consumption on July 13 and says that next year, the lounge will offer a cafe atmosphere. He plans to offer live music, meals, and sandwiches to go whether or not patrons are purchasing cannabis.
The idea, according to Wells, is for the lounge to offer a familiar environment. “Just think of it as a brewery but for cannabis.”
The Tufted Puffin is now open on the corner of Echo Lake Rd and the Sterling Highway.