Though rain was in the forecast, it never fell in Winlock on Valentine’s Day morning — which was good news for the dozens of customers gathered outside of The Evergreen Egg, Lewis County’s newest retail cannabis dispensary.
The business held its grand opening ribbon-cutting ceremony on Saturday, Feb. 14.
Evergreen Egg owner Roy Talbott greeted customers and then thanked the “Lord our Savior” for helping make his dream a reality.
“I prayed out this, long and hard, lots of times. And, at times, I was down and out, but he showed me signs to keep my faith,” Talbott said.
He also thanked his family for their support, even through some of the tougher times in his life.
“Many moons ago, I went to prison for growing pot. Twenty years old. I thought my life was over,” Talbott said. “My family visited me every weekend.”
He then led customers in the Pledge of Allegiance and thanked both the South Lewis County Chamber of Commerce and City of Winlock for their support in helping get his business off the ground and established in the South Lewis County community.
Customers at the ribbon cutting and those who came throughout the day on Saturday and Sunday enjoyed 40% off select products in The Evergreen Egg as a part of the grand opening celebration.
For those who missed it, The Evergreen Egg still offers 10% discounts for seniors and members of the military, along with a 10% travel discount for customers coming from 20 miles away or further.
Aside from The Evergreen Egg’s ribbon cutting, South Lewis County Chamber of Commerce members, along with Winlock Mayor Victoria Marincin, hosted a ribbon cutting for the city in an effort to try to attract both new businesses and customers to the area.
In partnership with the newly formed Friends of Winlock volunteer group, they held a Valentine’s Day storefront window decorating contest for downtown Winlock businesses. After the ribbon cutting for the city, trophies were handed out to the top three, which included the Rowdy Rooster Cafe, The Mill Bakery and Bark N’ Bath.
A Salkum resident born and raised in Lewis County, 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.
His 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 Washington state Liquor and Cannabis Board regulations.
Now, The Evergreen Egg is open from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. daily, located at 122 SE First St. in Winlock.
