High Is A Place: A Conversation With Airfield Supply Company Founder Marc Matulich

Based in San Jose, CA, Airfield Supply Company — a vertically-integrated cannabis dispensary that champions the notion that “High Is A Place” — recently celebrated its 10th anniversary. Ten years is a very long time in legit California cannabis, so this marker piqued my interest. Established to serve the medical market as the South Bay Healing Center in 2010 and rebranded for the recreational market in 2015, Airfield Supply Co. has grown into one of the highest-volume, single-site recreational cannabis dispensaries in the United States, serving more than 1,500 consumers daily — a full 300 of whom each day enter for the first time. I caught up with Airfield Supply Co.’s founder and CEO Marc Matulich to learn what makes Airfield so special.

Warren Bobrow=WB: Where did you grow up? Was cannabis vilified like where I grew up in 1960’s/70’s NJ? What brought you forward into the cannabis industry? Outdoor or indoor grown? Favorite grower?

Marc Matulich=MM: I grew up in Los Gatos, California, a small town on the edge of Silicon Valley at the base of the Santa Cruz mountains. Growing up near Santa Cruz and around California, my experience was that cannabis was abundantly available and somewhat socially acceptable. I certainly didn’t feel as though it was vilified. California’s quiet acceptance of cannabis definitely set up my lifelong love of it. I love both indoor- and outdoor-grown cannabis. I still grow a few plants in my backyard — last year’s Blueberry Muffin was especially tasty — but I also love the ability to really focus on an indoor grow.

I was brought in to the cannabis industry by my passion for the plant, and a belief that the plant could change the world for the better. I actually began growing my own supply in a closet while I was at UC Santa Barbara. Upon graduating in 2005, I put together a business plan to open a medical marijuana dispensary. It took a few years before the legal/political environment provided an opportunity to execute my plan. In 2010, while working as a construction manager, I opened South Bay Healing Center (SBHC) which would later evolve into Airfield Supply Company. I was confident it was the industry for me, and things have just taken off from there.

My favorite grower is Noah Sweeters, of course. He is our Chief Cultivation Officer and an expert at indoor cultivation and preservationist of wonderful heirloom strains.

WB: Tell me about your company? What makes your company different and therefore more agile? Did you attend B-School? If so, did you anticipate where you are today through education or hard knocks? Do you have a mentor? Who would that be?

MM: Airfield is a boutique cannabis experience. When we approached the rebrand from SBHC five years ago, we looked at where the industry was presently and, more importantly, where we thought it could go — and made a decision to leap forward to what a high-design experience could be. From an aviation theme centered around the golden age of travel to our retail consumer experience, we wanted Airfield to feel like a high-end shopping brand while still ensuring it was accessible to anyone. I believe Airfield’s solid business and brand base has allowed us to rise above and survive in the often uncertain retail world in cannabis. Because we have the benefit of high volume, we are able to experiment with new ways to improve experiences and move forward quickly as an organization. We are also willing to take risks to improve our retail product because we view Airfield beyond just today’s market. 

Our onsite cultivation facility has also made us very agile by providing a reliable supply chain. No matter what new regulations surface, we can always be sure that our shelves will be stocked with high-quality product. This alleviates some stressors and limitations.

I studied Business Economics in college and I believe I got here because I received an education that offered me growth opportunities and I had a steadfast commitment to what I knew was the right path, even in difficult times. I am very lucky that my family, and especially my wife — who did just about every job imaginable as we built the business — has always been so supportive of my passion for building Airfield into what it has become. We have been through a lot since 2010, but I really view this as only the start of our story.

I did not have a mentor, but I was inspired by Berkeley Patients Group when I first purchased cannabis there in 2004. They had a great community-driven business that was extremely progressive for the time.

WB: What are your six- and twelve-month plans? How do you move forward in our highly regulated industry? What obstacles do you face daily?

MM: Airfield’s future is all about how we can introduce and integrate cannabis into as many people’s lives as possible in ways that are convenient, safe, and beneficial for them. We are always looking at experience and scale — not necessarily in terms of the dispensary’s footprint, but in the ways that consumer habits continue to change and how we can support them.

Previous to the pandemic, we were focused on the introduction of self-service kiosks and on the expansion of our delivery fleet of Teslas as we want to make enjoying cannabis as frictionless as possible. During the pandemic’s onset, we pivoted away from the self-serve kiosks and really focused on delivery and helping customers get curbside pick-up without needing to enter our storefront. The virus has forced us to be nimble and imaginative while doing our best to serve our community. On the upside, it has been a solid reminder of why I got into this industry in the first place — to ensure that the best possible medicine is available to the most people possible.

Looking forward, we are focusing on improving the cannabis industry’s sustainability efforts. We have some incredibly exciting news coming on that front soon, and we hope to lead a charge across the industry to eliminate single-use plastics and improve brand consciousness of the environment.

Moving forward for us has always been about finding ways to integrate into our community, be an active participant in the civic process and proactively face obstacles head-on. We want to be the industry leader when it comes to positively impacting change around banking, taxes, sustainability, and other key initiatives in California’s cannabis industry.

WB: What is your favorite restaurant? Where? Why? What kind of food? Do you cook? Who taught you?

Without a doubt, Steamer’s Grillhouse in Los Gatos is my favorite restaurant. My dad and his brother opened it in 1979. The food is excellent and I learned a great deal about work growing up in the restaurant business. From a young age I was assigned all sorts of random tasks around the restaurant. I don’t know how much I really contributed, but it taught me respect for hard work and dedication.

I learned to cook from my father. He instilled my love of food. He is the kind of person who can’t just eat one dinner when we traveled but would take us around to three or four restaurants just to try different things at each. There is no better way to eat your way through a city or town!

WB: What is your passion?

MM: Outside of cannabis, I love surfing and skiing — passions I learned from my parents — as well as spending time in Santa Cruz, Mexico, and Lake Tahoe. I am also passionate about my family and friends, and spending time exploring the world. With cannabis, my passion is to bring something amazing to people in a way that fits their needs. Airfield began as a commitment to serve and uplift a community, and we keep that passion with us in every action we take and in every decision we make.