Review: Shango
Shango
Shango in Southeast Portland was among the first places I bought legal weed. I like the budtenders there, they’re eager and smart. A young fellow with glasses explained to me the concept of ‘good paranoia’ and helped me find some of the ‘thinky’ weed I like. He knew his job, and he sold me some good herb.
Their other Portland location is near the airport. It’s probably the nicest looking pot shop in Portland, strikingly beautiful like Lush or Coach. The airport location suits them — it’s the place you take your brother-in-law from Orange County when you want to impress him. Things to take home from Portland: Doughnuts, a tattoo, an eighth of Quantum Kush.
Maybe not such a good idea. Nonetheless, the store is impressive. Shango runs a tight ship and it’s working, they have one hundred wholesale customers in Oregon alone. Their retail stores sell exclusively Shango-grown weed, including their Chong’s Choice brand — a rotation of strains chosen by the man himself. Shango has inked a deal with Cheech too. In weed’s wild west, endorsements like these are monumental.
Shango, which is based in Nevada, hopes to see their home state legalize recreational cannabis this November. Shango and its investors plan to open a 70,000-square-foot establishment in Las Vegas with a state-of-the art grow operation, an industrial kitchen and a retail space featuring their seductive products. Add some rides and you’ve got Disneyland.
I don’t doubt they can follow through. Brandon Rexroad, the founder of Shango’s parent corporation, has one of those miraculous skillsets that mark cannabis entrepreneurs for success: hydroponics, construction and finance. He’s built Walmarts. Scale with a capital S is nothing new to him
Let’s just say it: This is the face of the new cannabis industry — vertical integration; efficiency of scale. Polished all the way down, from the complex corporate structure to the seductive print ads to the glass jars on display. They’re not afraid of big. According to Shango’s public-relations folks, “Expansion isn’t the right word. Explosion is.”
“The founder has one of those miraculous skillsets that mark cannabis entrepreneurs for success: hydroponics, construction and finance. This is the face of the new cannabis industry: polished all the way down.”
Hours: Mon-Sun: 9am-9pm
WEBSITE
www.goshango.com
Originally published at Dope Magazine.
