Harborside, one of the most recognized names in California cannabis retail, opened its newest location in San Jose's Willow Glen neighborhood last weekend to what the company called its strongest opening in its 18-year history. More than 3,100 customers visited the Lincoln Avenue dispensary over its first 72 hours of operation, with lines stretching half a block on Saturday afternoon and wait times reaching 90 minutes.
The company declined to share precise sales figures but said the location exceeded its 90-day revenue projections within the first weekend — a performance it attributed to a combination of the Harborside brand, the neighborhood's relatively affluent demographics, and the simple fact that Willow Glen had never had a dispensary within walking distance before.
"Willow Glen was one of the most requested locations we've heard about from Bay Area customers for years. People kept asking us: when are you coming to the south side of San Jose? The answer turned out to be: as soon as the city would let us." — Andrew DeAngelo, Harborside Co-Founder
The Willow Glen store — a 4,800-square-foot space in a converted mid-century commercial building near the Willow Glen branch of the San Jose Public Library — is Harborside's second San Jose location after its Berryessa Road store, which opened in 2022. It features 12 point-of-sale stations, two express windows for online pre-orders, and a "budtender consultation bar" designed for first-time cannabis shoppers.
A Neighborhood Transformed
The opening has reignited a debate that played out in planning meetings for more than a year: whether cannabis retail belongs on Lincoln Avenue, one of San Jose's most charming commercial corridors, lined with independent restaurants, boutiques, and coffee shops. Opponents, organized as the Lincoln Avenue Preservation Alliance, had argued that a cannabis dispensary would attract foot traffic inconsistent with the neighborhood's family-friendly character.
Opening weekend appeared to challenge those concerns. Neighboring business owners reported strong cross-traffic, with several restaurants and cafes seeing their own Saturday sales spike. A candle and home goods shop two doors down from Harborside posted on Instagram that their Saturday was their best single day of the year.
"I'll be honest — I had concerns. But the customers who came in this weekend were exactly who I see at the farmers market on Sunday. It was my neighbors. I feel better about it now." — Lisa Kim, owner, Botanica Home, Lincoln Avenue
What's Inside
The store carries more than 600 SKUs across flower, edibles, concentrates, tinctures, and topicals, with an emphasis on products from independent California cultivators. Harborside has long distinguished itself in the industry by prioritizing small-batch, craft growers over the largest commercial brands.
Opening promotions, including a 20 percent discount on all flower and a free tote bag with any purchase over $60, drove impulse buying that stretched even online pre-order queues. The company said it has already hired 22 full-time staff for the Willow Glen location and plans to add 10 to 15 more as the store finds its steady-state demand.
Harborside's opening also puts pressure on existing South San Jose operators. Purple Lotus, which has operated in the city since 2010, opened a downtown location last year and has seen consistent sales growth, but the two new Harborside locations in Berryessa and Willow Glen have given the brand a stronger foothold in the city's more affluent northern and central neighborhoods. Valley Green Partners, which is planning its own Willow Glen location for late 2026, is watching closely.