{"id":25288,"date":"2021-07-01T10:00:42","date_gmt":"2021-07-01T17:00:42","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lbpost.com\/hi-lo\/?p=30000021027"},"modified":"2021-07-01T12:41:42","modified_gmt":"2021-07-01T19:41:42","slug":"weed-for-the-people-catalyst-cannabis-focuses-on-community-equity-and-accessibility","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lbpost.com\/esd\/hi-lo\/weed-for-the-people-catalyst-cannabis-focuses-on-community-equity-and-accessibility","title":{"rendered":"Weed for the People: Catalyst Cannabis focuses on community, equity and accessibility"},"content":{"rendered":"

Catalyst Cannabis Co.<\/a> is coming to downtown Long Beach and, like everything this unique business does, the expectation is that it\u2019s arrival will be transformative.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re going to uplift the entire block,\u201d Catalyst CEO Elliot Lewis predicts when Catalyst opens its doors at 433 Pine Ave. this month. The business is just awaiting final licensing approvals<\/a> from the City before it opens what Lewis calls his \u201cflagship\u201d store.<\/p>\n

This will be the 6th brick and mortar dispensary under the Catalyst name (the other Long Beach locations are on 2nd Street in Belmont, on Cherry Avenue and on 10th Street, as well as in Santa Ana and Bellflower). For Lewis, a Long Beach native, this location is a passion project.<\/p>\n

The drywall is installed, the landscaping is planted and all that\u2019s left to do is to welcome customers.<\/p>\n

But Lewis\u2019 vision extends beyond the storefront to the community that surrounds it. He\u2019s been working closely with nearby residents and businesses to help plan events, like a pop-up art gallery, live music and cultural celebrations, for the block.<\/p>\n

Catalyst has a different business model than most cannabis stores. Given that the company name means \u201cagent of change,\u201d it\u2019s no surprise that Catalyst takes a distinct approach compared to others in the industry.<\/p>\n

Take, for example, the four pillars of Catalyst\u2019s business model: Community outreach, social equity and fire weed at fire prices. Catalyst supports women by highlighting a different woman-owned brand on Wednesdays. It is also a strong union supporter and works with the United Food and Commercial Workers Union to offer union jobs that provide employees with good pay and benefits.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re trying to redefine the way the cannabis business is done,\u201d Lewis said. \u201cThe younger generations are socially conscious and care about buying from companies that are, too. It\u2019s important to have a good menu with good prices but, ultimately, our customers are interested in supporting businesses whose employees contribute to the community\u2026 not those who are off on an island, wearing a Rolex and counting their money.\u201d<\/p>\n

Catalyst sells a variety of cannabis products<\/a>, from edibles and flowers to pre-rolled and concentrates from a variety of brands. While the cannabis brings people in the door, it\u2019s the customer service that keeps them coming back, Lewis said.<\/p>\n

When asked what he\u2019s most proud of, Lewis doesn\u2019t talk about Catalyst\u2019s success, the partnerships he\u2019s forged with cities or even his expansion plans \u2014 he discusses the beach clean-ups, food pantries and legal justice clinics he and Catalyst employees volunteer for, along with many other community organizations Catalyst supports. \u201cWe\u2019re promoting a culture of volunteerism,\u201d he said, noting that potential employees interviewing for positions at the new Pine Avenue location must show a willingness to get involved in community outreach.<\/p>\n

The desire to give back runs deep for Lewis, who often brings his wife and four children, ranging in age from 5 to 12, with him for weekend volunteer work. \u201cIt\u2019s good for them to see people modeling integrity, honesty and service just as they need to see there are people in need who we can help.\u201d<\/p>\n

He knows there is marketing and political value in contributing to his community, and he doesn\u2019t try to pretend he doesn\u2019t know. Lewis is, after all, a business man. But, whether it\u2019s by bringing toys to children or selling to a satisfied customer, Lewis said he is most fulfilled when he is helping others.<\/p>\n

\"\"
A toast to the growth of Catalyst Cannabis on Pine Ave. Photo- Catalyst Cannabis<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Success has not come without knocks. From disagreements with his industry peers<\/a> on the best approach to working with cities to disputes with partnerships to overcoming COVID-19 issues, Lewis has faced plenty of challenges. He is looking ahead and not behind, though, with much anticipation for Catalyst\u2019s future.<\/p>\n

\u201cI don\u2019t consider this work, I love it,\u201d Lewis said. \u201cI\u2019m excited to every day to make #WeedForThePeople a reality.\u201d<\/p>\n

Learn more about Catalyst by visiting the company\u2019s website<\/a> or follow Lewis on Instagram @catalyst_ceo<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Catalyst CEO Elliot Lewis’ vision extends beyond the storefront to the community that surrounds it. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":201,"featured_media":71631,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"newspack_sponsor_sponsorship_scope":"","newspack_sponsor_native_byline_display":"inherit","newspack_sponsor_native_category_display":"inherit","newspack_sponsor_underwriter_style":"inherit","newspack_sponsor_underwriter_placement":"inherit","inline_featured_image":false,"newspack_ads_suppress_ads":false,"newspack_popups_has_disabled_popups":"","_EventAllDay":false,"_EventTimezone":"","_EventStartDate":"","_EventEndDate":"","_EventStartDateUTC":"","_EventEndDateUTC":"","_EventShowMap":false,"_EventShowMapLink":false,"_EventURL":"","_EventCost":"","_EventCostDescription":"","_EventCurrencySymbol":"","_EventCurrencyCode":"","_EventCurrencyPosition":"","_EventDateTimeSeparator":"","_EventTimeRangeSeparator":"","_EventOrganizerID":[],"_EventVenueID":[],"_OrganizerEmail":"","_OrganizerPhone":"","_OrganizerWebsite":"","_VenueAddress":"","_VenueCity":"","_VenueCountry":"","_VenueProvince":"","_VenueState":"","_VenueZip":"","_VenuePhone":"","_VenueURL":"","_VenueStateProvince":"","_VenueLat":"","_VenueLng":"","_VenueShowMap":false,"_VenueShowMapLink":false,"_":"","_author_alias":"","cap-aim":"","cap-description":"","cap-display_name":"","cap-first_name":"","cap-jabber":"","cap-last_name":"","cap-linked_account":"","cap-newspack_employer":"","cap-newspack_job_title":"","cap-newspack_phone_number":"","cap-newspack_role":"","cap-user_email":"","cap-user_login":"","cap-website":"","cap-yahooim":"","newspack_article_summary":"","newspack_email_html":"","newspack_email_type":"","newspack_featured_image_position":"","newspack_hide_page_title":"","newspack_hide_updated_date":false,"newspack_post_subtitle":"","newspack_show_share_buttons":"","newspack_sponsor_byline_prefix":"","newspack_sponsor_disclaimer_override":"","newspack_sponsor_flag_override":"","newspack_sponsor_only_direct":"","newspack_sponsor_url":"","newspack_article_summary_title":"Overview:","newspack_show_updated_date":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[3301,31887],"newspack_spnsrs_tax":[],"coauthors":[3245],"class_list":["post-25288","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-hi-lo","tag-_instagram","tag-sponsored-by-catalyst-cannabis","entry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/lbpost.com\/esd\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/25288","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/lbpost.com\/esd\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/lbpost.com\/esd\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lbpost.com\/esd\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/201"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lbpost.com\/esd\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=25288"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/lbpost.com\/esd\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/25288\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lbpost.com\/esd\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/71631"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/lbpost.com\/esd\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=25288"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lbpost.com\/esd\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=25288"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lbpost.com\/esd\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=25288"},{"taxonomy":"newspack_spnsrs_tax","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lbpost.com\/esd\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/newspack_spnsrs_tax?post=25288"},{"taxonomy":"author","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lbpost.com\/esd\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/coauthors?post=25288"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}