The Soldotna Tufted Puffin cut its ribbon on July 3, 2024 as Randy and Jennifer Wells’ third and largest Kenai Peninsula location. Google’s own venue tags — live music venue, event venue, store — are the tell: this one was built ground-up as a full-scale cannabis cafe and live-music room, not a retrofit.
The Sterling Highway address puts it directly on the Kenai River corridor, an easy stop for Kenai and Cook Inlet fishing traffic. As a freestanding building, it can host indoor smoking under Alaska’s onsite consumption rules — and does, with a dedicated smoking lounge alongside a bright, homey seating area of couches and communal tables. The Wells have booked touring bands from the Lower 48 into the space and lean on it for holiday events and 4/20 parties. Same source list as the downtown Seward and harbor stores, same deli-style flower counter, same coffee and tea menu.
Reviewers who’ve traveled from Oregon and Washington describe it as unlike any dispensary they’ve seen elsewhere — brightly colored couches, live music, and the on-site smoking room in one venue. Pet-friendly during retail hours.