If there's one reason why the Grove Dispensary has been financially successful and celebrated its 10th anniversary last weekend, its CEO says it's this: location, location, location.

"We are the first store as you come out of the airport. It's often the first stop for visitors before they head to the hotels," CEO Demetri Kouretas said.

Sure enough, a few minutes later, a taxi pulled into the parking lot, dropped off a patron and waited as the customer made his purchase.

Location is also the reason Kouretas believes in the future of Society Elevated, the state's first cannabis consumption lounge to open in two years.

Approved last week by the Cannabis Compliance Board (CCB), Society Elevated is welcoming its first customers just ahead of 4/20, the annual "high holiday" for marijuana. 

The opening is a positive sign for Nevada's middling cannabis industry, which saw overall sales decline 9 percent to $757.7 million statewide in the 12 months that ended June 30, 2025. That led to a proportional drop in tax revenue sent to the State Education Fund.

Another consumption lounge in Las Vegas, Smoke and Mirrors inside the Thrive Cannabis Dispensary, closed last year after less than 12 months in business. Though officials set the groundwork for dozens of state-regulated lounges, that means Society Elevated is just one of two open.

Diminished sales totals haven't affected jobs in Nevada's cannabis industry, which numbered between 17,000 and 18,000 in the past year. Workers, termed as agents, have to be registered by the CCB.

The flattened market for legal cannabis means business owners have to put more thought into operations and location.

Society Elevated is located in an old pizza shop near Paradise Road and University Center Drive, west of UNLV near the Thomas & Mack Center and adjacent to the Las Vegas commercial area known for decades as the Fruit Loop for its LGBTQ+ businesses and entertainment attractions. The Legislature last year designated the area as a historic landmark for being a "hub for activism, community-building and celebrations."

Inside, it has several large sofas and plush chairs and a bar area. The menu includes cannabis-infused cocktails and food items. A pair of large screen televisions are turned to sporting events and other entertainment. Kouretas said the area has been a "high-volume, high-traffic spot" because of the dispensary's success.

"In our eyes, it definitely helps to draw customers to the consumption lounge," he said, noting his previous career operating traditional taverns in Southern Nevada. "We're more of a bar-themed atmosphere."

Kouretas suggested Smoke and Mirrors closed because Thrive is located on Sammy Davis Jr. Drive, an industrial area somewhat off the beaten path for tourists. Planet 13, which is west of the Strip, has other cannabis-related attractions attached to the facility, including the other state-licensed lounge in Nevada, Dazed! 

He said the consumption lounge business can't be based heavily on locals because "most of the customers will just purchase at the dispensary and bring it home."

The Las Vegas Paiute Tribe operates Sky High consumption lounge as part of its NuWu Cannabis Marketplace near downtown. However, the location is on tribal land and is not under the CCB's jurisdiction. The Paiutes have their own board that oversees the facility through a compact with Nevada.

The Grove is one of three dispensaries operated by Kouretas' company, which includes a Grove dispensary in Pahrump and a medical cannabis dispensary on Swenson Avenue.

Cannabis consumption lounges — legalized in Nevada in 2021 — are a challenging business, given requirements for unique air ventilation systems and other restrictions.

Jason Banales, cannabis program supervisor for the CCB, said there is a series of checklists board agents need to sign off on before a location can open. He said the consumption lounges' intimate setting includes ventilation requirements similar to those of a cigar lounge, given the high volume of smoke.

"There are a certain amount of air exchanges per hour to keep the air clean," Banales said. "There are protections for workers as well. They can't be stationed in the smoke the entire time."

Like a typical bar or tavern, customers have to purchase cannabis or cannabis-infused products from the location and must consume them at the lounge. 

"It's very restrictive on what you can and cannot do," Kouretas said. "In other states, you're allowed to buy something at the dispensary and bring it into the consumption lounge. We understand our operating environment."

Banales said some prospective consumption lounge applicants are looking at other business models, such as a nonsmoking venue or a massage parlor that utilizes cannabis infused lotions.

"They wouldn't need to meet those ventilation requirements. So there are kind of creative ways they can go about their business model," he said. "I think we're going to see what novel concepts they might apply to the consumption lounge."

CCB Chief of Administration Steve Gilbert said the first Northern Nevada consumption lounge has been approved for an undisclosed licensee, but the location is still in the "conditional stage." He said the agency is working with the licensee to "get over some of the hurdles." 

Also, on Monday, the CCB is rolling out two billboard campaigns on behalf of the industry.

Messages in partnership with Zero Fatalities will be displayed, warning against impaired driving on the 4/20 cannabis holiday. After Monday, the CCB will reintroduce its "buy legal" message that encourages consumers to purchase products from licensed cannabis dispensaries. That campaign runs across the state through June.

Kouretas acknowledged the challenges that Nevada operators face from the illegal market, but he believes the state-licensed businesses have stepped up to meet any price comparison.

"The illegal market is definitely out there, but our prices have dropped all over the state," he said. "The business has become more mainstream. Every state coming on board, either medically or recreationally, has helped drive the prices down."