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Uncle Ike's Pot Shop

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Coordinates: 47°36′48″N 122°18′09″W / 47.6133°N 122.3025°W / 47.6133; -122.3025
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Uncle Ike's Pot Shop
FormationSeptember 30, 2014; 10 years ago (2014-09-30)
FounderIan Karl Eisenberg
TypeRetail
Location
Coordinates47°36′48″N 122°18′09″W / 47.6133°N 122.3025°W / 47.6133; -122.3025
ProductsCannabis and related glass products
RevenueOver $1 million per month.[1]
Websiteikes.com

Uncle Ike's Pot Shop is an establishment in Seattle, Washington, licensed by the Washington State Liquor and Cannabis Board to sell cannabis to the public.[2]

History

[edit]
The shop at the intersection of 15th Ave E and Republican

Uncle Ike's Pot Shop opened on September 30, 2014, and was the second cannabis retailer in Seattle, after Cannabis City.[3][4] As of 2016 it led the state of Washington in cannabis retail sales at over $1 million per month.[1] The proprietor is Ian Karl Eisenberg, aka "Uncle Ike".[5][6]

The business is both praised for being the first to inform consumers about pesticides in their product, and criticized for contributing to gentrification of the neighborhood it is located in, Seattle's Central District.[5] When it opened, the shop was said to be "built like a fortress" with security provided by a company owned and staffed by ex-military service members.[3] As of 2022, Uncle Ike's has expanded to five shops in Seattle,[7] including an outlet store in the White Center neighborhood.

Controversy

[edit]

Protests at the shop started a week after it opened in 2014.[8]

The Seattle chapter of Black Lives Matter, under the leadership of activist Marissa Johnson, was criticized for allowing anti-Semitic remarks at some 2015 rallies concerning Eisenberg's ownership.[9][10][11]

After a Martin Luther King Jr. Day, 2016 protest outside his store, Eisenberg replied through social media that he had moved into vacant property and his several businesses do not contribute to gentrification.[12] Some protestors complained on 420 Day (April 20), 2016, that the business is located three feet (1 meter) from a church that sometimes has youth events.[13][14] More anti-Semitic comments from a Seattle activist were recorded by Eisenberg and posted online in 2017.[15]

Eisenberg reported more vandalism during a July 22, 2020 riot which he considered unrelated to the Capitol Hill Autonomous Zone protests, but falsely labeling him as a former member of the Israel Defense Forces.[16]

References

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  1. ^ a b Bob Young (February 25, 2016), "Seattle's brash king of pot raking in cash and raising hackles", The Virgin Islands Daily News – via The Seattle Times
  2. ^ Julie Weed (July 14, 2015), "At Uncle Ike's Pot Shop, The Clientele Is Evolving", Forbes, archived from the original on May 7, 2016, retrieved September 17, 2017
  3. ^ a b 'Uncle Ike's' — Seattle's 2nd legal pot store — built like a fortress, to open Tuesday, Q13 FOX television, September 29, 2014, archived from the original on January 24, 2016, retrieved May 28, 2016
  4. ^ Evan Bush (September 30, 2014), Uncle Ike's becomes second licensed pot retailer in Seattle, archived from the original on September 11, 2016, retrieved May 28, 2016
  5. ^ a b Bob Young (February 25, 2016), "Seattle's brash king of pot raking in cash and raising hackles", Alaska Dispatch News, Anchorage, archived from the original on May 27, 2016, retrieved May 28, 2016
  6. ^ Lucy Rock (May 22, 2016), "Marijuana millionaires cashing in on cannabis legalisation", The Guardian, archived from the original on December 11, 2016, retrieved December 18, 2016
  7. ^ Farah Jadran (March 29, 2022). "'Keeps me awake at night': Seattle pot shop owners increase security after spike in robberies". KING-TV. Archived from the original on February 5, 2023. Retrieved June 5, 2023. Ian Eisenberg, co-owner of the five Uncle Ike's locations in the Puget Sound region...
  8. ^ Evan Bush (October 6, 2014), "Protest at Uncle Ike's Pot Shop; Will Oregon legalize?", The Seattle Times, archived from the original on September 11, 2016, retrieved May 28, 2016
  9. ^ Charles Mudede (September 2, 2015), "Anti-Semitic Remarks at a Black Lives Matter Event Appear to Go Unchallenged", The Stranger, archived from the original on June 9, 2016, retrieved May 28, 2016
  10. ^ Josh Feit (August 26, 2015), "Anti-Semitism Creeps into Recent Black Lives Matter March", Seattle Metropolitan, archived from the original on May 16, 2016, retrieved May 28, 2016
  11. ^ Bryan Cohen (September 3, 2015), "With Central District I-502 retail a $1M+ a month business, 15th Ave E pot shop maneuverings play out", Capitolhillseattle.com, CHS Capitol Hill Seattle, LLC, archived from the original on July 2, 2016, retrieved May 28, 2016
  12. ^ Josh Feit (January 19, 2016), "Protesters Confront Pot Shop Owner, Legislator Confronts Teens, and Council to Confront Mayor Pot, gentrification, virginity, and homelessness.", Seattle Met, archived from the original on May 18, 2016, retrieved May 28, 2016
  13. ^ Sara Bernard (April 21, 2016), "The 4/20 Protest at Ike's Took Over the Corner, But it Didn't Shut Down the Party", Seattle Weekly, archived from the original on March 22, 2018, retrieved May 28, 2016
  14. ^ Dyer Oxley (April 22, 2016), Why this Seattle pot shop is allowed next to a youth center, KTTH/MyNorthwest.com, archived from the original on May 28, 2016, retrieved May 28, 2016
  15. ^ Casey Jaywork (April 3, 2017), "Jewish Pot Store Owner Told to 'Go Back to Germany, Let Those Nazis Get On You'", Seattle Weekly, archived from the original on August 3, 2017, retrieved June 20, 2017
  16. ^ "Uncle Ike's owner on riot damage, says city not letting police do their jobs". MYnorthwest.com. 23 July 2020. Archived from the original on 24 July 2020. Retrieved 24 July 2020.
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