Who wants to be Fresno’s first legal pot barons? Familiar names might be a surprise
Fresno’s first pot baron (of the legal variety, at least) could be a white woman in her 50s who runs a successful lobbying firm.
Or it could be a Black man in his 30s who works for one of the city’s largest developers.
Or it could be one of Fresno’s finest homegrown baseball players, a right-hander who pitched 12 seasons in the majors, threw a no-hitter and was named 2008 ALCS MVP.
All three of the people I just described could end up with the title of Fresno’s first legal pot baron — or none of them. It all depends whether their applications to open retail cannabis businesses get the stamp of approval from City Hall.
In late June, the city’s Office of Cannabis Oversight released a list of 35 prospective businesses vying for 21 retail cannabis licenses available citywide, three in each council district. Of the 21 retail licenses, between three and six will be awarded to social-equity applicants that are going through a separate selection process.
It will likely take until early 2022 before any of these businesses are open — four years after Proposition 64 legalized the sale and cultivation of marijuana throughout California.
Competition was fierce just to get to this point. The list of 35 applicants to be interviewed via Zoom starting Monday, July 13, whittled down from 75 in February, has several familiar names, including three prominent community members who are vying for multiple licenses.
Kacey Auston-Tibbetts, the owner of Auston Consulting, is applying for three retail licenses. So is Barigye McCoy, a one-time City Council hopeful who works as director of public affairs for Tutelian & Company. Former major league and Fresno State pitcher Matt Garza has applied for two.
“Middle-aged woman isn’t what you think of as the face of cannabis,” Auston-Tibbetts said with a chuckle. “I just think that stigma needs to go.”
Familiar faces in Fresno business, political circles
Auston-Tibbetts owns 51% shares in three prospective businesses that, if approved, would become part of the Cookies chain that lists locations in 17 California cities. One is located in the Tower District, inside a long-vacant former Bank of America branch on Wishon Ave. Another is at a Shaw & Blackstone strip mall. The third is at 7315 N. Blackstone near River Park, an empty lot where a Toledo’s Mexican Restaurant used to stand.
Since applicants were required to furnish store addresses during the initial stages of the selection process, Auston-Tibbetts said she has been leasing the three properties for nearly two years.
Auston-Tibbetts is well-known in local business and political circles. Her job is to lobby elected officials on behalf of clients such as Producers Dairy and Mid-Valley Recycling. She also serves on the board of directors of both the Fresno Metropolitan Flood Control District and the San Joaquin River Conservancy.
Even though rules prohibit her from talking to City Council members about her cannabis applications, Auston-Tibbetts does not believe her insider status gives her an edge.
“I don’t think it helps me being a familiar face,” she said. “My proposals are strong enough on their own.”
McCoy is a notable name in Fresno’s Black community. A former Fresno County employee and union leader, he is a member of the Fresno EOC Board of Commissioners and an African American Historical & Cultural Museum board member.
On applications, McCoy is listed as 49% owner of three stores that would become part of the Culture Cannabis Club chain. They are located at 6893 N. Golden State Blvd. (Herndon & Highway 99), 314 E. Bullard Ave. (Bullard & 41) and 2590 S. Maple Ave. in Calwa.
After asking me to submit questions via email, McCoy declined comment.
Ex-big leaguer Garza: ‘Local presence does help.’
The 37-year-old Garza, who last pitched in the majors in 2017, is partnering with Shryne Group Inc. on two locations (Shaw & Blackstone and Ashlan & 99). He would hold 51% ownership at both stores.
In a March interview with KSEE-24, Garza said he did not believe his big-league resume gives his businesses an inside track.
“I don’t think my star power has anything to do with it,” Garza said. “The applications are graded on a points system. Local presence, being a local person, that does help.”
Another well-known applicant is Terance Frazier, a developer embroiled in the simmering controversy over Granite Park and his city contract to operate and maintain the 20-acre sports facility in east-central Fresno. Frazier owns a 40% share of Catalyst Downtown Fresno, to be located at 721 Broadway.
The Fresno City Council will have final say over which retail cannabis applications are approved for licenses, a decision that’s not scheduled to be made public until early December. But since Frazier is engaged to Fresno City Councilmember Esmeralda Soria, she will have to recuse herself from any vote involving her fiancé.
Fresno is California’s largest city without recreational, brick-and-mortar pot shops, one of the last open territories in this emerging market. Of the 35 retail applicants approved for interviews, all but 10 have Fresno or Clovis residents listed as majority owners or significant shareholders.
Marijuana legalization has been a rocky transition. Statewide tax revenues have fallen short of rosy expectations, and the black market remains prominent. In Fresno, where cannabis users are long accustomed to shopping out of town or using unlicensed delivery services, those habits may take a while to change.
Still, it must be a lucrative business opportunity. Or else the competition to be Fresno’s first legal pot barons wouldn’t be so stiff.
This story was originally published July 11, 2021 at 5:00 AM.
