Luxury Leaf: Keeping cannabis in the family

Adrienne Scales-Williams is the owner and founder of Missouri-based cannabis brand, Luxury Leaf. As the first Black-owned dispensary in Missouri, Luxury Leaf has garnered attention, but there’s more to the company’s story. 

Adrienne started her journey in the cannabis industry after her mother was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer in 2016. Since then, she has made it her mission to provide quality cannabis to the community. 

“I had absolutely no access to medical marijuana”, said Adrienne.  

She made a commitment to herself that the lack of medical cannabis would not happen to anyone else, especially in the Black community. 

“As long as I can get into the Black community and let them know, that this option is here,” said Adrienne. 

Adrienne isn’t a one-woman show. Her sons Mike & Phillip Williams moved from Atlanta to St. Louis in June of 2022 to help with the Luxury Leaf brand.

Mike Williams, the dispensary’s general manager and buyer, said working for his mom was a no-brainer and also expressed that he’s “all about legacy building.” 

“It’s a lot of good Black-owned businesses that go to waste because the kids don’t take it over,” said Mike. 

As a buyer, Mike is focusing on the smell, feel, and packaging appeal when choosing products for Luxury Leaf. He describes himself as a picky buyer because of the meticulous process of reviewing products. 

“I make sure I do a quality check on everything before it is put in the store,” he said.

Phillip Williams, the assistant manager, hopes to get the Luxury Leaf name more recognition in the St. Louis cannabis scene. 

“All of our budtenders are super knowledgeable and educated on the products. It’s a very personalized experience here,” said Philip. 

Philip expressed that the experience you encounter when you enter Luxury Leaf sets them apart from competitors.

When the idea of Luxury Leaf started, Adrienne wanted the dispensary to be modeled into a high-end boutique. 

“We want it to be a cannabis experience when you come here to shop,” said Adrienne. 

She also discussed the brand’s commitment to maintaining clients by greeting each by name and remembering their orders.

Along with the dispensary design, the Luxury Leaf brand name was also a well-thought-out decision to attract clientele. 

“I think the name goes with the experience. I want your expectations to go with the name,” said Adrienne.

Along with the brand experience, Adrienne also understands the importance of cannabis education for her customers and the community. 

“When I first started in this space, I automatically go together with a natural pathetic doctor that had been in the business over 10 years,” said Adrienne. “I wanted to make sure I could talk to people about what they could consume and make sure they knew all the different ways they could consume.”

Along with the successes of Luxury Leaf, Adrienne shared some obstacles the company had to overcome along the way. 

“The biggest hardships are getting people to get their medical cards and to build a client base with people with medical cards is hard,” she said.

She emphasizes the importance of consuming legal cannabis and pointed out the discrimination with incarceration rates of illegal cannabis usage, particularly in the Black community in St. Louis.

As for the future of Luxury Leaf, Adrienne is dedicated to keeping the brand patient-focused. 

“When people buy products from me, I want to know what they thought of them. I do take a lot of feedback from customers,” said Adrienne.

Adrienne utilizes feedback to ensure that dispensary improvements are patient-focused and maximize the consumer’s experience. 

“They have expectations of me, and I will try to exceed them every time,” said Adrienne.

Luxury Leaf is located at 1463 South Vandeventer Avenue, St. Louis 63110. You can find them online at LuxuryLeaftSTL.com or on Instagram @luxuryleafstl