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Fresh off the heels of U.S. President Donald Trump reclassifying marijuana from a Schedule I to a Schedule III controlled substance last month, a newly licensed retail cannabis dispensary is now open for business in Winlock — The Evergreen Egg.
Owned by Salkum resident Roy Talbott, The Evergreen Egg first opened as a smoke shop last year selling tobacco products and glassware, as previously reported by The Chronicle.
His goal was to run it as a smoke shop as he worked through the process of pursuing his retail cannabis license with the Washington State Liquor and Cannabis Board (LCB).
Last week, he finally completed that process, and with his license in hand, transformed The Evergreen Egg into the cannabis dispensary he originally envisioned.
“We’ve been open since last Thursday, so a week and two days,” Talbott said when The Chronicle visited on Sunday, Jan. 25. “It’s been great. Had some great customers coming in.”
The Evergreen Egg’s main supplier is Othello-based Clarity Farms, which was one of the first 40 licensed farms founded in 2013 after Washington state Initiative 502 passed in 2012, legalizing cannabis cultivation. Prior to running the farm, Clarity Farms co-owner Jian Malihi got his start working for the Seattle dispensary Center for Palliative Care, according to the Cannabis Business Times.
“We’ve partnered up with them, and on Valentine’s Day weekend, we’re doing a grand opening, 10 a.m., and we’re going to do 40% off all Clarity Farms product,” Talbott said.
He’s also working with the South Lewis County Chamber of Commerce to hold a ribbon-cutting ceremony at 10 a.m. on Saturday, Feb. 14, along with having a mobile presence from nearby local businesses O&C Barber and Esthetician and Mobile Mermaid Espresso, for the grand opening.
“I talked to Clem (Cilluffo) of O&C Barber yesterday. He used to do mobile, and he still has his mobile setup. He might bring his mobile setup to the parking lot or across the street here,” Talbott said.
For residents throughout the rural parts of Lewis County who normally have to drive to the Twin Cities or down to Castle Rock for a dispensary trip, Talbott has a 10% travel discount for customers who have to travel 20 miles or more to get to The Evergreen Egg.
He hopes to save a little bit of travel time for rural residents, especially those out in East Lewis County, and at least give them a small discount.
“You drive here to come here from Pe Ell, outside of Salkum, Mossyrock area, I’ve given it to people in Onalaska that are just on the cusp. You had to make a special trip here to make that happen, so we’re more than happy to give a discount, because we know it goes right back into your fuel tank,” Talbott said.
Born and raised in Lewis County and living mostly in Salkum, Talbott’s family roots there go back to the 1930s when his great grandfather bought old logging mill land in the unincorporated Lewis County community.
The family built and ran the Talbott Grocery Store, which still stands and operates today as the Salkum Super Market. Talbott first hatched the idea of opening a dispensary with a former business partner in 2023.
With a moratorium still standing in Lewis County barring cannabis dispensaries in unincorporated areas — keeping him from opening in his hometown of Salkum — he shopped his idea of a dispensary around at other nearby rural Lewis County city councils.
That included Mossyrock, Morton, Toledo, Winlock and Napavine. Toledo and Winlock’s city staff seemed the most receptive to it, he said. In the end, he settled on Winlock as it had the best location he could find, both close to the existing downtown shopping area and at least 1,000 feet away from a school per LCB regulations.
Now, The Evergreen Egg is open from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. daily, and located at 122 SE First St. in Winlock.
For more information, follow or message Talbott on The Evergreen Egg on Facebook at https://tinyurl.com/2mk6m39h or on Instagram at https://tinyurl.com/5n9b3s8w.
