By Patrick Wagner
BELLEVUE, Wash. — While some recreational marijuana stores have found their origins as side projects for affluent business owners or investment opportunities, The Novel Tree in Bellevue grew from the simple dreams of a construction worker and a waitress.
It took co-owners Allie Charneski and Chris McAboy roughly a year of planning and discussing the venture before they committed to moving forward with the business license in December 2013. By that time, McAboy had finished his construction project management program at the University of Washington and Charneski was ready to move out of the hospitality industry.
“It was time for something new for both of us,” Charneski said. “Between the two of us, we have the skill sets to run a retail store and we both are genuinely passionate about pot. It was just a good opportunity and a great point in our lives to move forward with this.”
Charneski was originally hesitant to take the leap.
“It was Chris’ idea initially and it did take me a second to be fully on board,” Charneski said. “After I read the rules and regulations for 502, I was far more sold on it. It just seemed like an easy roadmap to follow, to figure out how to run a store.”
The atmosphere created by the couple at The Novel Tree feels akin to an Alpine lodge, with paintings and bookshelves suspended by strings in front of pine-boarded walls and flooring. The cabin aesthetic is draped across the walls and is only cut away by small modern touches like a streak of back-lit green glass or a sleek, counter-top display of blown glass and edibles.
A 10-person staff serves customers all the popular strains and products the shop carries.
It’s a different world once you pass the glass doors off of the typical suburban Bellevue road. But both Charneski and McAboy knew that they wanted to be on the east side, specifically in Bellevue, a city most locals would associate with upscale shopping centers.
Once the couple landed their ideal location, they agreed they wanted a discreet, subtle tone for the store’s name, which led them to The Novel Tree.
“Something screaming, ‘Mr. Dizzydank’s Emporium,’ wasn’t that suitable for this area,” Charneski laughed. “We wanted to make it appropriate to our market.”