The Evergreen Market was founded in 2014 by Eric Gaston, Arne Nelson, and Jeff Anderson. They are three dads from Issaquah who met while their daughters were in the YMCA Y-Princesses. Each of the founders have diverse backgrounds, and it was their shared vision of creating a whole new way to experience retail cannabis that led them to opening Renton’s first cannabis store.

Prior to entering into the cannabis business Eric was a criminal defense attorney at a point in his career where getting up every day to go fight with other lawyers stopped being fun and rewarding. Arne, who spent his previous life launching tech startups and raising venture capital, was at a point where he wanted to use his gifts for building something new and meaningful. And Jeff, a lifelong entrepreneur and owner of a successful e-commerce company, saw an opportunity to create a business from the ground up in a brand new industry. Each brought a unique skillset to the partnership, and it was their shared commitment to each other to create a store and a brand that they could be proud of.

Having spent over a year, and countless hours vetting the retail cannabis industry in Colorado, they took the best of the shops they visited and endeavored to create an unparalleled customer experience that had at its foundation the core values or Educate, Celebrate, Elevate. They believed going into this that by educating customers on cannabis and the industry, and by celebrating retail cannabis rather than apologizing for it, they could elevate both the industry and the lives of those it touched.