San Francisco's last gun shop became a pot co-op

In what may be the most San Francisco story ever, the city's last gun shop has closed, and its space will be filled by a nonprofit medical marijuana cooperative.

The dispensary was eager to move into the vacant storefront — where it will begin operations in July — because the shop is located in a "green zone," one of the regions in the strictly-zoned city where marijuana stores can be housed. "There are very few areas in San Francisco that are green zones," explains co-op board member Sean Killen, "so we needed to keep it close."

The building's previous occupant, High Bridge Arms, had been in business since the 1950s. Its owner, Andy Takahashi, decided to close his doors in October 2015 in response to the growing regulatory burdens his shop had to adhere to. Takahashi was "thrilled, frankly" with the new occupants, Killen said. "He thought it was cool. It certainly wasn’t lost on us that the fact that it was a gun store turning into a pot collective … It just seems very San Francisco."

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