Stoner rest stop: Michigan’s newest cannabis lounge is right next to a Dave & Buster’s

Bowdega and Burn1 are turning Utica into a destination for travelers who want to get high without breaking the rules.

UTICA—Marvin Kiezi wants to get more Michigan stoners out of the house this summer—or at least out of hotel rooms so they can avoid those pesky $300 cleaning fees.  

That’s the idea behind Bowdega and Burn1, Michigan’s newest dispensary-lounge combo, which had its grand opening last week at the Utica Park Place Shopping Center. The business offers stoners the rare chance to refill their stash and blow through it under the same roof.

If state regulators ask, these are technically two separate businesses. But in practice, it’s only a 10-step stroll from the dispensary door to the lounge door. Customers can buy their weed in one, smoke it in the other, and never once worry about the cops or the concierge.

Kiezi—who also owns PUFF Utica—invited me over to check out opening day on Friday afternoon. And naturally, I wanted to be one of the first people to get their ashtrays dirty.

Kyle Kaminski/The ‘Gander Newsroom

The retail side, Bowdega, was bright and polished, with shelves packed with thousands of products from just about every brand on the market. That includes hundreds of different pre-rolls and a cooler stocked with one of the widest selections of infused-beverages I’ve ever seen.

I was only making a quick pitstop, so I just grabbed a $4 pre-roll from Peninsula Gardens.

Kyle Kaminski/The ‘Gander Newsroom

From there, it was a short walk—maybe six feet—into Burn1, the 3,000-square-foot lounge. Inside, the vibe was clean and functional: with donut-shaped ashtrays on the tables, a huge snack wall for the munchies, a barista tending a coffee cart, and a patio for outdoor puffing.

The ventilation system was strong enough to ensure that the smoke never lingered long, which also means customers never leave smelling like a forgotten bong in someone’s garage.

I showed up at about 7 p.m. and despite a DJ and food trucks outside, the lounge wasn’t too busy. A few people milled around Bowdega, a couple sat on the patio, and I took a solo seat inside, sparked my pre-roll, and let the novelty of the consumption lounge experience sink in.

Kyle Kaminski/The ‘Gander Newsroom

I’ve been to lounges before and Burn1 isn’t wildly different—but the experience of buying weed and smoking it immediately, indoors and legally, is still rare enough to feel like stoner magic.

After all, only a few lounges have opened in Michigan and most of them didn’t last long.

Under state law, they can’t serve alcohol. They can’t prepare food. And once people are high, it can be tricky to keep them hanging around. But Kiezi thinks his location is the key to success.

With about 500 hotel rooms within walking distance from the lounge, Burn1 is largely designed to cater to the traveling stoner who is tired of burning joints in their car or behind a dumpster. And since the lounge practically shares a parking lot with Dave & Buster’s, Kiezi is also banking on luring in locals who need a place to pre-game before their dinner and arcade games.

Whether that’s enough to keep the lights on remains to be seen.

Consumption lounges are a tough sell in Michigan. Smoking at home is hard to beat. And Burn1 is stepping into a space where plenty have already failed. But so far, the prices are right, the building is fresh, and it’s one of the only spots where you can roll in, roll up, and walk out high.

That alone makes it worth the stop.

READ MORE: 6 quick hits of cannabis news from across Michigan

Want more cannabis news delivered right to your inbox? Click here to sign up for The MichiGanja Report—our free weekly newsletter about all things marijuana.