Embarc opens Meyers cannabis retail store, Community Advisory Board in place

MEYERS, Calif. - Embarc, a community-centric retail cannabis dispensary, will be opening its Meyers storefront at 3008 US-50 on January 18, 2024. This will be the unincorporated area of El Dorado County's first cannabis dispensary opening under the process approved by voters in 2018 and the Board of Supervisors in 2019.

Embarc is a success story with roots in El Dorado County. The company first opened in South Lake in June of 2020 and has since opened an additional nine storefronts throughout California. Embarc looks forward to bringing its demonstrated commitment to operational excellence and meaningful community benefits to the Meyers community.

“After a multi-year listening tour and operationalization process, I am thrilled to be expanding our footprint in El Dorado County by bringing a best-in-class cannabis retail experience to the Meyers community. I am grateful to the many County departments and staff who worked diligently to help bring this vision to life and to the folks from Meyers and beyond who have expressed their excitement about our opening,” explained Lauren Carpenter, Embarc’s chief executive officer.

Embarc is hiring locally and has a partnership with the United Food and Commercial Workers, providing strong pay and benefits to unionized staff.

Another focus of Embarc Meyers is its community benefits plan, something that has been successful in South Lake Tahoe. They have been a steadfast community partner as represented in their operations and community impact through their Embarc Tahoe storefront and local Community Advisory Board since they opened in 2020.

“While we are fortunate that Embarc is growing, we will always remain laser-focused on our commitment to true local partnership and impact here,” said Carpenter. “We look forward to working collaboratively with local community members to address the needs and priorities of the Meyers community, just as we do in neighboring South Lake.”

Much of Embarc’s community impact in South Lake Tahoe has been focused on supporting youth drug prevention and education, a commitment that started before even opening its doors. Among many contributions, Embarc’s financial support has included important priorities such as:

- Implementing accredited youth drug prevention and education curriculum, Botvin LifeSkills in partnership with the Tahoe Boys and Girls Club

- Re-launching Friday Night Live at South Tahoe High and helping with the Club Live program at South Tahoe Middle School. They hope to help with the expansion of a Friday Night Live program extension to elementary schools in partnership with the Tahoe Alliance for Safe Kids (TASK).

- Supporting Lake Tahoe Unified School District with financial support for Sober Grad Night and the installation of a Memory Garden

- Support for local non-profits – Supporting kids in the great outdoors through the Tahoe Institute for Natural Science and Tahoe Rim Trail Association and general needs of Bread & Broth and Live Violence Free

- Helping TASK get off the ground with a new website and logo

The Botvin LifeSkill program was launched at the Boys and Girls Club of Lake Tahoe. This accredited youth drug prevention curriculum is age-appropriate and customized to meet the needs of kids in South Lake Tahoe.

“Embarc has been an incredible community partner for the Club, contributing to our capital campaigns, funding our anti-drug and tobacco education program, sponsoring our events, volunteering, and donating program supplies. I am excited for Meyers to get such an active community partner as a new business and know that Embarc will be as generous and supportive to Meyers' nonprofits and community organizations as they have been in South Lake,” said Jude Wood, executive director of Boys and Girls Club of Tahoe and Embarc Tahoe and Embarc Meyers Community Advisory Board member.

Embarc said they believe responsible and trusted leadership matters when implementing cannabis retail in communities, saying they pride themselves in being a partner to local non-profits by appropriately and sensitively supporting their efforts. This is what they are going to do in Meyers and have already formed the Embarc Meyers Community Advisory Board to lead this effort. This board will direct one percent of gross sales at Embarc Meyers into the community, ensuring the benefits of local cannabis are reinvested locally.

They will be open at their Meyers location from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. daily. For more information, visit https://goembarc.com/meyers-dispensary/.

Embarc Meyers will be hosting their Grand Opening for the community on February 10th, 2024.