‘Weed and music’ coming to Berkeley’s Telegraph Ave

BERKELEY, Calif. (KGO) –Amoeba record stores may be legendary but the Berkeley “mothership” on Telegraph Avenue is now ready to dispense more than music at a new store front called Hi-Fidelity.

“Nothing goes better with a great record than a great bag of weed and nothing goes better with a great bag of weed than a great record,” says Hi-Fidelity curator and inventory manager Christopher Garcia.

A music store next to a cannabis dispensary on Telegraph Avenue seemed like a good fit for Berkeley. The city upped its cannabis permits from 4 to 6 to accommodate the new business.

The idea is to infuse the successful business model of Amoeba Music into a cannabis dispensary featuring local growers.

Assistant General Manager Alex Crittendon said, “We want to support the small farmers and craft brands that aren’t the big corporate guys, but we need to have big brands, too. We want to be a one stop shop for people coming to Telegraph Avenue.”

Stuart Baker with the Telegraph Business Improvement District says it’s significant in terms of “adding another dimension of entertainment now that people are seeing that cannabis is legal in California.”

A job fair this Saturday will lead up to the grand opening. The opening date is expected to be the week before 4/20, what Crittendon calls “the Black Friday of cannabis.” So long lines are expected.

Garcia added, “The area has always been known for cannabis, walking down the street and being able to smell it. Now we are just going to give you a legit avenue to go down.”