When Sessions by the Bay opened its doors on April 20, 2025, around 8,000 people were already on a waitlist for a reservation.
One year later, San Diego County’s first and only cannabis consumption lounge is marking the milestone with a weekend of festivities — and its owner says the business has exceeded expectations.
“We’re still seeing tons of new people every day,” said Alex Ayon, who co-founded Sessions with his wife. “People are still coming in for the first time.”
Sessions, located at 700 Bay Marina Drive in National City, operates as a two-story venue. The ground floor functions as a traditional retail dispensary. Upstairs, patrons are seated at tables in a 16,000-square-foot lounge where servers bring food and non-alcoholic drinks, and customers can consume cannabis they purchased downstairs.
Alex Ayon, co-owner, and Mayra Estrada, general manager of Session by the Bay in National City, observe as the lounge section of the club opens to their customers. (Nelvin C. Cepeda / The San Diego Union-Tribune)
The space — designed by Ayon’s wife — features art throughout, velvet seating, circular booths and an outdoor patio.
To mark the one-year anniversary, Ayon said the business is hosting a full weekend of events that began on Friday. Plans have included live music each night, brand activations with cannabis company representatives, morning goodie bags, and a two-day farmer’s market in the parking lot featuring local San Diego vendors. On Monday, April 20 — 4/20 itself — the lounge will hold a ceremonial joint lighting with brand partners and top customers.
Sessions first received its city permit in 2022 and opened to the public the weekend of April 18-20, 2025, with the grand opening timed to coincide with 4/20, a date widely observed in cannabis culture. The business is one of only a handful of cannabis consumption lounges in California and the first of its kind in San Diego County.
Ayon said a few lounges existed in the Bay Area and West Hollywood before Sessions opened, but none combined a full-service food and entertainment experience with a retail dispensary the way Sessions does.
National City, CA – April 16: Session by the Bay in National City offers a special speakeasy for customers to sample a taste of the various cannabis products. (Nelvin C. Cepeda / The San Diego Union-Tribune)
The path to opening was not without friction. National City Mayor Ron Morrison, who was on the council when the project came before the city, said he cast a dissenting vote — objecting to its placement in the city’s tourist commercial corridor west of Interstate 5, an area the city had been preserving for hotel development.
“It went entirely against the instructions that we had given staff about where we wanted (Sessions by the Bay) to go, and then at the last second, it seemed like the current location was presented to the council,” Morrison said.
Despite his initial reservations, Morrison acknowledged the business has run smoothly.
“I can’t really say anything at all negative or concerning about them or their facility there,” he said.
The city said it received no calls or reports of any disruptive or illegal activity during Sessions’ first year of business.
National City, CA – April 16: Annette Pearson checks in Issac Torres to make reservations for the weekend celebrating the 420 special event at Session by the Bay in National City. (Nelvin C. Cepeda / The San Diego Union-Tribune)
The lounge operates under National City’s commercial cannabis ordinance, which requires cannabis businesses to pay a 5% monthly gross receipts fee to the city, an annual community benefit contribution of $50,000 or 1% of net profits — whichever is greater — directed to local nonprofits, along with annual permit, renewal and compliance inspection fees.
Cannabis businesses in National City are also subject to an 8.75% local sales tax and a 15% state cannabis excise tax. According to the city, none of the local cannabis-related fees have been increased since the program launched.
Not everyone is satisfied with how that revenue is being used. Eric Collins, chief programs officer for the Institute for Public Strategies, a Southern California-based public health organization, said National City is missing an opportunity by not dedicating a portion of cannabis revenue specifically to prevention and community programs.
“You could create an additional tax called a community benefits fee, and you could use that up to 10% of all the gross receipts from cannabis sales from the lounge,” Collins said. “You could use that money in a way to fund what’s called community-based prevention programs and strategies to address substance use and abuse, including that related to cannabis.”
National City, CA – April 16: On Thursday, customers browsed the various cannabis products at Session by the Bay in National City. (Nelvin C. Cepeda / The San Diego Union-Tribune)
Collins said his organization would not support further expansion of the consumption lounge model beyond what currently exists in the state, citing concerns about the overconcentration of cannabis retailers and the potential for increased community harm. Still, he stopped short of criticizing Sessions directly.
“I don’t really have anything negative to say about them,” Collins said of Sessions by the Bay.
Under the city code, consumption lounges must be located in the tourist commercial zone west of Interstate 5, must be contained within a licensed retail dispensary, and are restricted to patrons 21 and older. Alcohol and tobacco are prohibited on the premises, and patrons may only consume cannabis purchased on-site.
Patrons can also use a ride-hailing service if they feel too intoxicated to drive. There is a ride-hailing section in the parking lot.
Ayon said he hopes Sessions has helped demonstrate to city officials and the public that a cannabis lounge can operate responsibly. He said he expects more lounges to open in San Diego County in the coming years, though he noted the regulatory process is lengthy — Sessions itself took roughly three years from application to opening.
National City, CA – April 16: On Thursday, Jalen Fant, a budtender with Session by the Bay in National City, assisted Jesse Lucas with selecting a cannabis. (Nelvin C. Cepeda / The San Diego Union-Tribune)
“We’ve set the bar,” Ayon said. “We’ve had other city officials coming in and checking it out and seeing that it is something that can be done properly with good regulation.”