San Francisco Mayor Daniel Lurie has signed legislation that allows the city's licensed cannabis retailers to serve food and nonalcoholic beverages inside their consumption lounges.
Board of Supervisors President Rafael Mandelman introduced the ordinance in March after more than a year of collaboration between his office, state Assemblymember Matt Haney, and city agencies, including the Office of Cannabis and the Planning Department.
The ordinance creates a permit that cannabis retailers can pair with their existing licenses to prepare and serve food and drinks for on-site consumption alongside cannabis. Alcohol and tobacco remain barred from the premises.
Cafe operators must hold a consumption permit from the city's Department of Public Health, meet the same health and food code standards as other food establishments, and verify each customer's age electronically at the door. For the first year, only existing retailers and their equity partners can apply for the new permits.
San Francisco has issued 79 cannabis retailer permits, of which 66 were active earlier this year. State regulators estimate roughly 60% of cannabis sold in California still moves through the unlicensed market, a gap city officials cited in pushing to give legal operators new ways to compete.
