Aloft Magazine had a chance to sit down with the 420 Lounge manager Simon Sarkisian to talk about the new lounge in the heart of downtown Palm Springs.
Aloft Magazine – How are you letting visitors to the Greater Palm Springs area know about the 420 Lounge?
Simon Sarkisian – All the hotels have our flyers. All the little stories around here have our flyers. We are on Google under Lounge. People keep saying we are not on Google yet, but we are… we are a dispensary not Lounge so it doesn’t pick it up.
Aloft Magazine – This is your first year open during the upcoming music festivals. How are you preparing for the potential crowds?
Simon Sarkisian – So we are getting ready, we have staff coming in so we can have people come on in and enjoy here.
Aloft Magazine – Since concertgoers can not smoke on the fairgrounds, how are you getting the word out to visitors who are staying near the concerts that the lounges are now open?
Simon Sarkisian – Our sister shop PSA Organica is taking care of advertising at the Coachella Valley Music Festival grounds. I think that one or two venders for Lounges will be out at the Festival grounds. I think that are being (from what I have heard) a little more lenient but I do not know if that is true or not.
Aloft Magazine – How long is the process to open a lounge in California? When did you start the process to open the lounges?
Simon Sarkisian – We have been trying to put the Lounge idea up for awhile. Just getting through all the paperwork and getting it up and running takes time. We wanted to put in a Lounge basically for the community.
Aloft Magazine – Who are your most frequent clientele to the new lounge? Do you see more locals or tourists coming in?
Simon Sarkisian – It is not just for the Marijuana community. We have a lot of people living around us just coming in now. New people just starting up, people have questions. They stroll in every day.
Aloft Magazine – How many lounges are there in the Greater Palm Springs area at this time?
Simon Sarkisian – We are the first Lounge in Palm Springs. I think there are three in California now. There might be more coming up right now. It is because there is something everyone is just started getting into – Something that is next level. This industry is a new industry and it is going to change slowly and relax as we grow.
Aloft Magazine – What would you like visitors to the Greater Palm Springs area to know about the 420 Lounge?
Simon Sarkisian – Visitors are more than welcome to come in and enjoy. We are pet friendly so they can bring their pets if they want. We are 21 and over with a valid government issued ID. You can bring in your food or have food delivered here. We have people who rent the Lounge after hours for parties. We will rent it out during the music festivals privately or if we are busy we are happy to stay open later after hours.