SMOCHAS
FINE DINING AND CANNABIS LOUNGE Compe Lockwood
P
ublic service announcement: Do not continue reading this if hungry. SMOCHAS Fine Dining and Cannabis Lounge only makes food cravings worse— or better, as the case may be. Indeed, the restaurant now two years in the running is a happy place of food, fellowship, and— for those who partake —cannabis. First, let us savor the food: “We change out entrees a few times a year,” says SMOCHAS owner DarkEbony Mocha. “Currently, we are using the Beyou food primarily, but the new dishes will be SMOCHAS originals.” A customer favorite is Lobster Piquant, but every entrée is a work of art, literally. The designs are so real the lobsters could pinch –and with enough cannabis, they probably do. Or take the boneless heart-shaped premium center cut steak in a Roma seasoned sauce, cooked to the perfection of cyber dreams. The Chicken Mezzalune is creamed chickenstuffed pasta dough with Italian herbs and vodka sauce. For poultry submerged in vodka sauce never cries fowl. Those are but three delectable dishes from an equally delectable eatery. And then there is upstairs. The second floor takes one to a higher place by design. “After a great meal, if guests want to, they can go up to the lounge to enjoy our cannabis products,” DarkEbony adds. “There are people who come here just for the lounge. It is kind of like a happy hour feel. But most add the lounge to their dinner reservation.”
SMOCHAS was one of Ms. Mocha’s business but I wanted something different, too,” the owner recalls about the early days and the April 2020 start up. She entered the virtual dining experience with an innovative idea. Visionary. “Two things I know people love,” DarkEbony says, “eating and cannabis.” So why not offer both? Downstairs is the elegant restaurant, with formal or semi-formal dress required. Upstairs is a bar, booths, and tables. An array of cannabis edibles and smokes are displayed on trays for patron enjoyment. Some partake. Others are here just for the fellowship and ambiance. Ms. Mocha’s creative master plan was not easily implemented. “The hardest thing was bringing what I can think of in RL to the SL world,” she notes. “The challenge is bringing things in world without the most important parts getting lost in the translation.” There would be a trial by fire. Just as is the case in most in RL restaurant startups, SMOCHAS had opening day glitches, as well. “I had no restaurant experience,” DarkEbony recalls. “We learned so many things at the grand opening. Every table was full that day. The place was packed, and we could barely move. It was good seeing all of those people, but I was having a fit,” she laughs. Fortunately, the cyber restauranter was prepared. She and the SMOCHAS team learned how to reserve tables, work the crowd, and other culinary tips. She also learned about cannabis. “I have never smoked it,” she admits with a smile.But
SMOCHAS FINE DINING AND CANNABIS LOUNGE
