The Cannabis Cafe on Northeast Dekum Street opened on Friday, Nov. 13 amid a flurry of anticipation and controversy.

As this paper went to press,  just over a week into the cafe’s operation, it appears the worst fears of neighbors have not come to pass. One business owner on Dekum, who originally worried his store might be burglarized, commented that his business has not been affected by the presence of the cafe. “Everything seems to be cool, as far as I can tell,”
he said.

On opening day, another neighbor complained that the cafe’s location was inappropriate given its proximity to an elementary school. She also worried about the noise, an issue that had come up frequently in the past with events hosted upstairs in the Village Ballroom. A week later, her spirits were noticeably higher. In an interview she was relieved to say that there was “no activity to report,” and that “[the cafe] has been really quiet over there.”

Rose Bell, owner of Second Time Around Boutique, a used clothing store adjacent to the cafe, agreed. “The cafe is not much noisier than the restaurant,” she said, referring to Rumpspankers, a restaurant that previously occupied the space.  It seems the only issue so far has been the smell, which neighbors have reported does seep out of the building in spite of the cafe’s ventilation system.

To date, no incidents in connection to the cafe or official complaints have been reported to local police authorities. In fact, according to Madeline Martinez, the executive director of Oregon NORML and creative force behind the cafe, a large percentage of the cafe’s patrons live in the surrounding neighborhood.

When Eric and Shelly Solomon first opened Rumpspankers inside the building on 700 NE Dekum in 2008, they also took over management of the event space upstairs known as the Village Ballroom. Initially, neighbors were excited to see a local eatery in their community.
According to Jan Clutter, a past president of the Woodlawn Neighborhood Association, “Their promise was to bring a family-oriented business to Woodlawn.” Soon after it opened, residents say the restaurant started having erratic hours, draped blankets over the windows, and began hosting private sex parties upstairs in the Village Ballroom, an event space available for rent. “No one was aware [the Solomons were] transitioning to adult-based entertainment,” said Ejiria Walker, a longtime Woodlawn resident.

Eric Solomon claims that the parties had been going on since before he and his wife began leasing the building. “We inherited these groups, we brought none of this in,” he said. “We just chose not to hide it.”
Theresa Reed, also known as the Dark Lady and the host of the erotic-themed events, said she began hosting events in the space in 2004 but that the erotic events did not begin until after the Solomons took the space over.

The content of the adult events, as well as their late hours and loud noise, aggravated some Woodlawn residents. Many were upset to find out that these events were taking place in the same space that also hosted a neighborhood childcare service.

Controversy over the sex parties began the schism between the Solomons and the surrounding community, but the opening of the cafe has driven the wedge even further.
On Nov. 21, concerned citizens, including Woodlawn Neighborhood Association Board members, informally gathered at In Other Words Bookstore to discuss their grievances with the Cannabis Cafe. One attendee summed up the prevailing attitude of the meeting when she said, “The Cannabis Cafe is not a problem for me, Eric is.”

The extent to which the mother-son owners of the building, Sharon and Ryan Flegal, were aware of the cafe’s opening isn’t clear. The Flegals sent an email to the board of the Woodlawn Neighborhood Association in which Ryan alleged, “My mom and I are as surprised as you are by the intended opening of the Cannabis Cafe. The first we learned of this was this past weekend when my mom saw a flier and called me.”  

Attendees on Nov 21, were also angry about the management of the Village Ballroom. Since the Cannabis Cafe opened, all regularly hosted events in the Village Ballroom have been suspended, with the exception of a dance group that meets Sunday mornings.

In a Nov. 16 email to Nolita Tejada, the creator of Fruit Cake, a gay and lesbian dance party that formerly took place in the Village Ballroom, Eric Solomon explained that “the official position of the OLCC is that it is illegal to have cannabis and alcohol in the same space.” Such a position, Solomon elaborated, forced him to decide between hosting the events, many of which required a bar, and the Cannabis Cafe.

 “All intention was to keep all events that we had,” Solomon continued. “But we could not keep both, and the Cannabis Cafe offered me a chance to have worldwide publicity, to have the chance to do a first-ever in the U.S. and make a great deal of money. I took the opportunity any smart businessman would take.”
Attendees of the meeting lamented the loss of community events that once took place inside the Village Ballroom, including square dancing, family movie nights, and childcare. “I don’t think [Eric] realizes how bad of an effect it’s having on the community,” said Walker, who organized the meeting.

A possible solution to this conflict is a Good Neighbor Agreement, which Teri Pierson, the facilitation program coordinator for Resolutions Northwest, suggested at the Nov. 4 WNA meeting. The Solomons, along with Martinez and other Oregon NORML representatives, were also present at the meeting.
A GNA is a goodwill agreement used to settle disputes between neighbors and/or neighboring businesses.

While both sides expressed interest in forming a GNA at the Nov. 4 meeting, there has been no movement towards such an agreement to date. “We’ve stated that we would, we have no problem with it. We’ve stated to our landlord that we would, and no one’s approached us,” Solomon told the Sentinel, adding, “We’ll go to them again if we need to, to get it done. Whatever the process is, we’re willing to do it.”

Anjala Ehelebe, the historian and secretary of the WNA, said that the WNA has already made the first move and they are waiting to see a response from the Solomons. “We have indicated that we are available to meet with [Eric], should [the Solomons] want to do it,” Ehelebe said.

“There’s skepticism on my part that a GNA will rebuild trust,” said Kevin Turner, the incoming president of the WNA.