The newest Southern California Cannabis lounge, Sessions by the Bay, opened on 4/20, ushering in a new wave of public consumption for San Diego. Located five minutes from the water and five miles from San Diego’s Gaslamp Quarter, Sessions is the county’s very first dispensary and weed cafe where you can smoke up while ordering a whole menu of snacks, entrees and mocktails designed by Chef Jorge Bendesky. But beneath the aroma of signature drinks and weed smoke, Sessions houses a 3,000-square-foot retail space, hidden art gallery and exotic snacks section inspired by the markets of the 1930s.
The menu has more than 300 varieties of herb and 100 kinds of concentrates, plus a huge variety of edibles and beverages. Staff work both upstairs and downstairs, meaning that employees at Sessions are trained on product knowledge and hospitality, something multiple people have commented on since the store’s opening. Customers can stroll upstairs after their purchase to the walk-in section at the bar or patio where they can take a moment to enjoy themselves. A small cover charge applies unless you spend $75 — but downstairs is just as impressive.
Set off from the main retail section, Sessions by the Bay has a vintage-style marketplace housing a selection of chips, cookies, drinks and candies from around the world. Patrons can even discover a secret doorway that leads to a multiroom gallery space. A still-evolving part of the store, the journey through this hidden door will eventually lead visitors through a series of immersive, consumption-friendly exhibits that end with a showcase of work from a variety of artists.
Part of a project approved in 2022, it took serious work for owners Alex and Pearl Ayon to transform the space from the former site of California College San Diego, which shut its doors in 2021. Along with their partners from the Sycaun Tribal Development Corporation, the Ayons are using Cannabis to create a new life for the building, which sits on Kumeyaay land. Alex, who owned a dispensary before this, describes the store as “a place where we’re hoping to not just sell you something but provide a full experience.”
Together with Pearl’s aesthetic spin, the store’s unique layout makes Sessions feel as much of an experience as a store. After all, there aren’t many weed stores in the world that can promise you a quality selection, knowledgeable staff, a trip to an art gallery, healthy snacks, a patio that you can see Mexico from, and blueberry ice cream-flavored Oreos. With such a groundbreaking upstairs, the team at Sessions is working hard to ensure the store is a space with a flair and feeling that complements the lounge but is also all its own — something we feel they’re on track to achieve.
