Proper Exotic (left) has applied for a medical weed license to open next to Hunny Bunny.
Proposed Weed Shop on 8th Street NE Forces Out Retail Neighbor Say Owners
by Larry Janezich
Posted December 22, 2025
Owners of Hunny Bunny boutique Elizabeth Cronan and Jon Bormet say they are being forced to leave their location at 311 8th St NE because DC medical cannabis policies allow a weed shop – Proper Exotic – to open next door to their business on a block that also includes preschool and family-serving businesses.
Honey Bunny is a Black woman-owned small business at 311 8th Street NE – a boutique manufacturer and retailer specializing in all-natural bath and beauty products. For more than 10 years the business has anchored a family-focused block that includes Petite Scholars Preschool, other child-oriented businesses and longstanding residences. The owners say their store cannot operate alongside a business that requires armed guards, late night hours, and heavy security – features incompatible with residential child-focused corridors such as the 300 block of 8th Street NE.
ANC6A and ANC6C have protested the opening of Proper Exotic before the Alcohol Beverage and Cannabis Administration (ABCA) but currently the board seems overly generous in handing out licenses and the City Council seems reluctant to sign off on new regulations to limit where weed shops can open.
ABCA dismissed every entity protesting Proper Exotic, including the ANC and a letter of opposition from council member Charles Allen. ANC6A has appealed the administrative dismissal of the protests and expects a decision around January 7.
There is widespread community opposition to the negative effects on communities brought by ABCA licensing weed shops in areas residents deem inappropriate. Other recent examples on Capitol Hill include Aloha at 528 Eighth Street SE and Garden Hill at 1322 G Street SE.
Cronan and Bormet say what happened to them is not an isolated incident and warn that the proliferation of weed shops are displacing longstanding neighborhood businesses and reshaping communities without meaningful local input.
Currently, there are 13 legal weed shops operating in Ward 6 and at least four more including Proper Exotic, Aloha, and Garden Hill have applications pending. For a complete current list, go here: https://abca.dc.gov/service/find-medical-cannabis-retailer#gsc.tab=0
CAPITOL HILL CORNER 