This isn’t your typical cannabis dispensary.
Tucked inside a former elevator factory on Detroit’s lower east side, Utopia Gardens is more like an experience.
With polished concrete floors, hanging light fixtures, and a massive yellow crane that still looms from the tall ceiling, the dispensary has preserved the building’s industrial setting. Replica Diego Rivera murals adorn the walls, and vintage motorcycles are on display. A curved oak counter, where budtenders help customers, adds some warmth to the large space.
Owner Stuart Carter has taken great care to create a dispensary that is warm, welcoming, and stays true to its Detroit roots. One side of the building is graced with a colorful mural by local artist Camilo Pardo. On the other side is a Zen garden with benches and a basalt stone fountain. In the summer, the area is transformed into a space for live music every Friday evening.
“When I first started this, I really wanted it to be a blend of culture and business,” Carter says. “We just want to be a boutique operation. We’re like a family here.”
That family is literal too. Carter’s son, Garrett Carter, serves as the dispensary’s general manager, and he’s as passionate about cannabis as he is knowledgeable.
Open since 2017, Utopia Gardens is part of a vertically integrated business that allows the dispensary to keep the prices low and control what they sell. The dispensary sources much of its cannabis from its own Utopia Farms, a nearly 1,000-square-foot grow operation that cycles through 27 strains at any given time and is working on an additional 16 strains. During a tour of the facility, I caught a glimpse of a new strain, Purple Zunch, that had strikingly purple buds coated in frosty trichomes.
Utopia offers a mix of old-school favorites like Sour Diesel and Blue Dream, as well as newer strains with desert and candy flavors.
Utopia Gardens, another branch of the operation, produces concentrates, gummies, and infused prerolls.
The dispensary offers an ever-changing lineup of flower, from Utopia’s own strains to those cultivated by Grown Rogue, DogHouse Farms, LightSky Farms, Grand Crossing, and Algonquin Technologies. The idea is to give customers a variety of choices each time they visit, and there’s always something fresh on the menu, the younger Carter says.
“We want to have a lot of variety so we appeal to everyone,” he says.
For those who appreciate quality over quantity, Utopia Gardens is a refreshing departure from the “Walmart of weed,” as Carter puts it.
“When you come in here, you won’t be disappointed with the product,” Garrett Carter says. “That has always been our mindset.”
And the prices are hard to beat. Utopia’s own flower is just $6 a gram or $15 an eighth — and that’s when it’s not on sale. This Friday, all Utopia’s flower is 25% off. In the late 1990s, I was paying more for brick, seed-riddled weed in the black market.
While the deli-style flower is one of the main highlights, Utopia Gardens also sells prerolls, vapes, concentrates, edibles, tinctures, topicals, and CBD products.
I sampled a handful of Utopia’s strains, all of them fresh and harvested less than two months ago, and one of their infused prerolls.
Myst
The standout strain for me was Myst, a pungent, well-rounded hybrid with a mysterious lineage. The buds are dense and frosty with a dark purple hue.
The smell is an old-school funky gas with sour, citrusy undertones, much like an OG Kush.
The taste translates well, with an added hint of sweet fruit.
The effects were evenly balanced, providing a soothing body buzz and a focused, cerebral high. It’s a very versatile strain, so you could knock out some boring tasks, hang out with friends, or just relax.
Sunshine Daydream
A flavorful indica-leaning hybrid, Sunshine Daydream is a combination of Appalachia and Bubbashine.
The gooey, resin-packed buds have a pungent aroma of tangy diesel and blueberries, with earthy, nutty tones.
More than any of the strains I sampled, this one was the most relaxing and tranquil. About 20 minutes after taking some puffs from a joint, all of my negative feelings melted away. This is a good nighttime strain.
Hash Plant
Another indica-dominant strain, Hash Plant has plump, spongy buds that are oozing with trichomes. A cross between Northern Lights and Afghani, this strain has been around for a long time, and Utopia does it justice.
It has a spicy, earthy aroma with a similar taste.
This strain is perfect for unwinding or doing something creative.
Super Silver Haze x Lavender
What happens when you cross a mind-bending sativa with a calming indica? You have this unique strain.
The buds are fluffy and resinous, with bright green leaves, purple hues, and orange pistils.
The flavor is spicy and floral, with sour citrus undertones.
This indica-sativa combination gives way to an energetic, focused high with a relaxed body buzz. I found it perfect for tackling tasks I had long put off.
Cheetah Mintz
The buds on this hybrid are thick, chunky, and crystal-coated — the best looking of the strains I sampled.
Cheetah Mintz is a combination of Ice Cream Cake and Zonuts x (Cheetah Piss x Runtz Mintz).
The flavor is like mint candy with a touch of cream, while the aroma carries hints of earthy herbs and cheese.
The strain is a nice balance between physical and cerebral effects. I felt cozy, elated, and introspective after taking a few tokes from a joint. Cheetah Mintz is perfect for unwinding after a long day or doing something creative.
Gas Can infused prerolls
If you want a product with a stronger punch, Utopia Extracts offers a variety of infused prerolls that exceed 40% THC. I sampled a preroll stuffed with Eastside OG flower and a Trop Cherry cured extract.
Each joint has about a half gram of flower and a quarter gram of extract.
You don’t need a lot.
Unlike many infused prerolls, Utopia’s burn evenly because the natural extract is sprayed on the flower, a technique that keeps the joint smoking smoothly.
The profile is wild, with the flower bringing diesel, lemon, and pine flavors, while the extract added sweet tangerine and cherry notes.
The effects are uplifting, cerebral, and potent.
More than weed
Utopia Gardens isn’t just about cannabis. Giving back to the community has always been a big part of its mission.
To date, the business has donated more than $200,000 to charitable causes. Utopia has given away 1,000 bicycles to children, handed out Thanksgiving turkeys, and even donated to a fund to bail out peaceful Black Lives Matter protesters who were arrested during anti-police brutality rallies in Detroit.
“I really like being part of the community,” Carter says. “It’s important to me that we give back.”
Carter’s care also extends to his employees, who earn about $20 an hour on average, along with health insurance, tuition matching, and eight paid holidays a year.
It’s all part of his philosophy of blending culture, community, and cannabis into a holistic operation.
With thoughtfully curated strains, a commitment to quality, and the sense that this isn’t just a dispensary, Utopia Gardens is a unique space where quality and the community matter.
“The whole upside is that we created a little oasis,” Carter says. “I knew going into this that we were never going to compete with the big money guys. We found a place for the dispensary in our neighborhood downtown. We are committed to Detroit.”
If you want us to sample your cannabis products, send us an email at [email protected].
