San Francisco’s Best Dispensary of 2020-2022: The Apothecarium

The Apothecarium has contributed to the new way of buying weed. No longer a standoffish or confusing experience, the business founded in 2011 has sought to make the experience much more welcoming. Instead of just selling weed, they like to focus on educating users who don’t have a wealth of knowledge about weed. People who don’t know or understand the different strains and their benefits.
The founders comprise a group of cousins and close friends. While the business started in San Francisco in 2011, they have since opened locations in Las Vegas, East Bay, Capitola. They also have locations in Pennsylvania and New Jersey.

When COVID hit the US, and only essential businesses could stay open, weed dispensaries were essential and allowed to remain open. Because of this, The Apothecarium didn’t have to close its doors. Well, not completely. The business has delivery options and strongly suggests customers choose delivery or pickup rather than coming and lingering in the store.
If customers have questions, they can schedule a one-on-one consultation. To further adhere to COVID regulations and to protect their customers, The Apothecarium changed the free in-person events to online. This would ensure the people who still wanted to learn about topics such as “Cannabis and Women” and “Cannabis, Sleep, Depression and Anxiety” can do so from the privacy and safety of their homes.

These actions have and should act as an example to local businesses. Just because we are in the middle of a pandemic doesn’t mean you can’t still serve your community. It was their quick thinking that caused residents to vote the Apothecarium as the Best Dispensary in San Francisco in 2020.

We had the pleasure of interviewing Elliot Dobris, a spokesperson for the Apothecarium. We congratulated him on their win, and he was kind enough to answer a few questions about how the business stayed open during the pandemic and what they hoped to accomplish in 2021.

Elliot told us that the main reason the business kept making a profit in 2020 was that they focused on delivery and pickup. They focused on making themselves available online by doing consultations by phone, chat, or video. Because of this, when other businesses were shutting down, they could open new locations in Capitola and Berkeley.

Because of their quick thinking, when San Francisco was headed towards another month of sheltering in place, they saw a little decline in their business. They maintained social distancing and had masks and sanitizer at the ready. The Apothecarium wanted to do everything it could to ensure the safety of its workers and their customers.

We also asked Elliot about their hopes for the future. Going into 2021 has left many businesses uncertain of their future. But business is still going well for the Apothecarium. They are still taking online orders but hope to bring back in-person events and seeing their customers face to face.

If you want to support The Apothecarium, you can visit their online blog here. There are consultants you can speak with, or you can order something or sign up for one of their free classes.