Only Alien Cannabis Co. opened on West KL Avenue in Kalamazoo in February 2024 as one of Michigan’s earliest — and, according to co-owner Gabe Barham, the first — venues to hold a Class A Microgrow license and a Designated Consumption Establishment license at the same address. The whole operation is one building: cultivation in back, retail up front, and a full lounge that co-owners describe as the point of the whole exercise.
The four partners — Royal Laraway IV (cultivation), Marty Webber (GM), George Webber, and Gabe Barham — grow small, hand-trimmed batches on site and keep roughly 20 in-house strains on the retail shelf. Kalamazoo’s college-town density — Only Alien is minutes from Western Michigan University — was part of the pitch to the city, since student renters often can’t consume where they live.
Inside the lounge: a spacious room with multiple seating areas, a large TV, water, coffee, and board games, plus Steuben glass and other apparatus available to rent or you can bring your own. Private-group rentals are available. One important model note: Only Alien is not BYO — you must buy on-site to consume on-site — but with the microgrow and full retail right there, that’s the whole point of the experience.