Green Dragon dispensary chain shuttering Denver grow facility

One of Colorado’s largest marijuana companies will soon stop growing its own cannabis.

Green Dragon will close its Denver cultivation plant at 830 Wyandot St. in the Lincoln Park neighborhood at the end of the month, according to Cory Azzalino, CEO of Green Dragon’s California-based parent company Eaze.

“It’s not economical despite our team’s best effort to improve yields,” he said of running the 92,000-square-foot building. “At the end of the day, the facility costs substantially more to run than to buy product in the market. You’d either have to double yield or have the market price double for it to make sense.”

A down Colorado marijuana market is a major driver in the decision, Azzalino said.

According to the Colorado Department of Revenue, the average price for a pound of bud is $655, down from a recent high of about $1,300 in October 2021. State tax revenue from marijuana sales has dropped each of the past four years and is tracking to do the same in 2025.

About 45 employees will be let go as part of the shuttering, Azzalino said. He said Denver’s rising minimum wage over the past four to five years also contributed to the financial pinch.

“The facility was about to go through a union contract negotiation and process, which would likely increase costs further,” he added.

Despite the closure, Azzalino said Green Dragon’s 15 Colorado dispensaries will remain open with third-party cannabis.

“We’ll buy and we’ll continue to offer our Green Dragon products, rather than growing cannabis or producing our own pre-rolls,” he said.

According to previous BusinessDen reporting, Green Dragon’s lease at 830 Wyandot will expire in January 2031. Texas-based landlord Don Ball, who bought the property in October for $11.5 million, said he’s unsure whether he will continue to receive the $145,000 monthly rent payment he’s owed.

“The first time I talked to Cory, he said, ‘My intention is to pay you on time for a long time,’” said Ball, who recently acquired another Denver marijuana grow. “But he said business declined sharply over the last few months.”

Ball hopes to get another cannabis growing tenant in there soon — something Eaze attorneys said can happen “promptly” in a notice-to-vacate letter sent to him.

“I’ll be as cooperative as I possibly can be because it’s just as much in their interest as it is in mine,” Ball said of getting the space re-leased.

Ball said he still hasn’t gotten the rent owed in early June, which incurs a $400 fee and 1% monthly interest.

“I prefer not to comment because it’s going to be a legal battle,” Azzalino said of future monthly payments.

This isn’t the first time Eaze has talked of closing the facility.