Cannabis will continue to flow from Aspen’s Green Dragon dispensary after the company got a financial lifeline.

Tech billionaire James Clark, who purchased Eaze’s assets at a public auction in August, invested $10 million to keep the company open and expand its operations. Eaze CEO Cory Azzalino released a statement last week confirming the funding.

Aspen Green Dragon employees are hopeful about the company’s recent shift to remain operational.

“I’m very happy to know that we still have work to do,” said Jackson Landis, Green Dragon assistant director. “It was a shame. People really like this dispensary.

Eaze, the California-based cannabis delivery company that acquired Green Dragon in 2021, announced in mid-October that it sold their assets during the August auction.

The sale followed their $37 million loan deal with Clark-owned FoundersJT LLC, which gave the lenders the right to take control of Eaze if the company failed to meet its revenue goals. He seized the goods and bought them at auction.

Eaze filed layoff notices to 113 workers in Florida and 59 workers in Colorado who worked at Green Dragon’s cultivation facilities as of mid-October.

But Green Dragon dispensary employees have been asked not to fear for their jobs, Landis told the Aspen Times last month. Earlier this week, Green Dragon management confirmed to employees that, with this investment, operations at the Colorado dispensary would continue.

“There (were) a lot of people who were disappointed, you know, that we were going to close … because they love our product,” said Brian Cooley, assistant manager of Aspen Green Dragon. “It’s encouraging.”

With the recent financial boost, the company will expand its operations in California, Colorado, Florida and Michigan, including two production facilities, 11 delivery centers and 57 retail stores, according to Azzalino’s release. They will also hire approximately 1,200 employees.

“As we move forward into this new chapter, Eaze Inc. is focused on sustainable growth and providing service to our customers and communities,” Azzalino wrote.

“Sustainable growth” includes doubling the company’s flower canopy production capacity in Florida and opening new dispensaries in Colorado, Florida, California and Michigan, according to Azzalino.

But reviews I’m afraid the $10 million won’t be enough to get the company out of financial trouble.

“The company is close to break-even,” Azzalino responded to his initial announcement. “We’ve already invested the capital (capital expenditures) in our Florida cultivation facility to make the last part of the business lose money and be profitable, but we just need to get it off the ground.”

Eaze also plans to add cannabis delivery to its Colorado repertoire, Azzalino reportedly said.

“I’ve never seen anyone offer delivery service in Colorado before,” Landis said. “So it would be really cool if we did.”

He said he thinks cannabis delivery will be popular in Aspen.

“We get people asking us all the time if we keep our promises,” he said. “Especially for our location, it’s difficult to get in, find a place to park, get in really quickly, get your stuff and get out without having to pay to park.”

The Aspen location is currently doing pickup orders, where customers can order over the phone in advance, before coming to the store to pick up their purchase.

Skyler Stark-Ragsdale can be reached at 970-429-9152 or email him at [email protected].