LETTUCE BE SEATED BY JAMES BRIDGES

Lettuce Be Seated

by James Bridges

There’s a wave that business owners and entrepreneurs recognize that we are all riding. The simple fact that one recognizes this natural wave of energy, some call flow, is extreme progress of the psychological. What’s more extreme is turning that recognition into application.

Chet Tucker is the proud owner and vision behind Lettuce Smoke Canna Co. This is the parent company to the full vertical line-up of Lettuce Smoke, the farm and grow operation, Lettuce Depot for processing and wholesale, and last but certainly never least, The Lettuce Bar dispensary division.

“One of the biggest reasons I’m here is because of my need for a creative outlet. I also consider myself as somewhat of a freedom fighter. I think that nobody should control a plant. No one should say what we can or can’t have access to. It is our own choice.

I lost my father at 54 years old to epilepsy. If he would have had access to cannabis 15 or 16 years ago… he’d be alive today and I firmly believe that. I’ve seen it firsthand help people from epileptics to autism. It has helped people that can’t sleep. There’s a plethora of reasons why I would choose cannabis over anything. I’m not a PHARMA guy at all. That’s kind of why we started Lettuce Smoke. To go back in time before the 1920s. Back when you could choose your medicines and your oils and the things that are natural.”

While learning the application of this juice in the air some call flow, there’s a sense of connectivity in the atmosphere. Some call it luck. If you look closely you can

literally see the splashes of the tiny wakes from the vessel in which that “lucky” person is guiding. You will understand that it’s more of a navigational skill than anything remotely left up to a silly thing called “luck”.

“We were fortunate in finding this building. We’re on the edge of Choctaw. Right in Nicoma Park. The location is incredible. We are located to easily work out logistics for any kind of shipping or deliveries. We were going to use this as kind of a wholesale processing place but it just fit the theme perfectly.” Chet was excited to show us around.

I thought I heard a distant whistling from a stranger in the background. Maybe it was nothing… Dust dancing in the wind as I approach the swinging doors. Nearly noon. Something was going down. I noticed the beautiful Madame approach as I wiped the smudge from my eyes.

“This is no brothile,’’ she whispered. “This is where we begin healing.” Crystal Hilmes, Director of operations, met Chet about a year and a half ago through Chet’s prior business with Arcadia Brands. “I started with Chet only a couple of months ago. I immediately understood his vision. We’re really trying to take it back to the late eighteen hundreds or early nineteen-hundreds when I wasn’t a bunch of cannabis laws. At that point you could choose your own medicine.”

Crystal has had the opportunity to help build on that vision. She has brought her many talents and expertise to the table. However, during the “growth”period of something special it can easily become all hands on deck.

“I learned how to run a nail gun and build a bar out. You know anything that needs done. I’m here to get it done. We have to make sure that everything is functional and ready.” Crystal was on-point.

It’s at this point that I learned of her passion. She was not only making sure that fires were being extinguished and holes were being plugged, she was creating a culture of trained Cannacians™.

“All of our budtenders will be fully trained and certified Cannacians™. We are concentrating efforts on true medical needs. We are able to pinpoint exactly what problems the patients are looking at. We can help them properly find medicines they need. The most important thing and the only true way is to get the patient to a better place.” I could have sworn Crystal ran to unlock the front doors from excitement.

To look at someone from a personal perspective changes things. I’ve been involved in projects that concentrate on results or money invested. The time and chips that move around for the most part have no real value other than logistics. What makes something tick is it’s heart and soul. If you can tap into that then you can nearly tap into lightning, in terms of entrepreneurial vision. “I think I’ve just always been kind of a creative person”, Chet shares. “I dabble in photography and songwriting. I’ve always been kind of creative. I did some Art and Design and advertising type work and I wanted to learn so I studied a little strategic communications at Penn State. I’m kind of an educational journeyman. I hopped around five or six colleges. Always learning, you know.”

“I traveled a bit too. I was in corporate America for a long time. After 15 years with the same Corp, I there was a layoff so decided just to kind of travel and dive into it. I did some photography exhibitions in the Dallas area. I did some modeling shoots but passion was landscape photography and just getting lost out in nature. But I do love candid photography and cities. I would take trips for work and would love to shoot cityscapes. I like to get outside and do some hiking and wandering in the wilderness too. So I did that for, I don’t know, three or four years and started running out of money. I needed to get back and take care of responsibilities.”

“I jumped back into full work mode.” Chet’s determination oozed.

The Lettuce Bar has three locations currently in the works. Cities like Nicoma Park, Noble, and Broken Bow will soon have an outlet for the Lettuce Smoke Canna Co. products.

“We decided we’re working on a couple of grows. Lettuce Smoke is the name of our grow only. Our base company is kind of the conglomerate Depot. It will actually be a wholesale processing player. We will make pre-rolls and concentrates and wash everything that we are growing. We really want to focus on being a single source and primarily work with smaller Boutique Growers and processors. We want to bring the market to them and give them a space to hopefully get it out to other communities. I think it’s about craft cannabis, the cultivators that really know what they’re doing. It’s their passion and livelihood and it’s about serving our local communities. Our goal is to be critical centerpiece; we want to be a brand that helps the local community and helps the small guy. One that keeps that good craft unique style to each of these products.”

“We’re really trying to take it back to the late eighteen hundreds or early nineteen-hundreds feeling. Back when there weren’t a bunch of cannabis laws. You can choose your own medicine. We wanted our hemp and CBD all-natural soaps and oils and salves and things like that to be for the front of the house. Instead of settling for the big industrial chemicals and all that kind of stuff we really want to go for something that’s all natural, specifically to the Cannabis culture. We really shoot for more clean and natural medicines. That’s really what we’re after. Going back in time and going back whenever you could actually get all natural homemade crafted products.”

“I think our biggest challenges have been a lot of red tape to go through. So making sure that you have all your ducks in a row when it comes to all of your paperwork, your legal work to ensure that you have everything put together. The old saying is that it always takes twice as long and twice as much that is budgeted. I believe that is pretty close to right. We were shooting for a July 1st opening and we’re about 60 days behind. Because of the delay we’ve been fortunate enough to do some extra things that otherwise may not have occurred. What if in order to turn that recognition of the entrepreneurial wave into application you simply go back to what you love?

Chet is no longer inside the man made pressure cooker. Chet gets to play. He gets to show himself that he has proven himself to be in his space. Chet is ready to fly creatively and master what has driven him his entire career.

And so it continues…

12007 NE 23RD ST, CHOCTAW, OK