Say cheese!: Illegal Pete’s, pot firm partner on ‘queso vape’

BOULDER and DENVER — Boulder-born restaurant chain Illegal Pete’s is moving beyond the world of burritos and stepping into the cannabis game with a partnership with Denver vape brand O.pen.

In conjunction with National Queso Day on Sept. 20, the partners have launched sales of the Illegal Pete’s branded Queso O.pen vape, made with distillate from the UK Cheese weed strain.

“This partnership with Illegal Pete’s was a great way for us to bring together two well known Colorado brands in a really fun, unique marketing push, said Brittany Hallet, executive vice president of Slang Worldwide Inc., the cannabis umbrella company that owns O.pen along with several other brands such as Alchemy Naturals and Ceres Collaborative. “… I went to (the University of Colorado Boulder), so I spent my college days eating my fair share of Illegal Pete’s. I’ve always been a fan.”

The idea behind the collaboration, Hallet said, is simple: Pot and burritos just make sense together, kind of like peanut butter and jelly and, well, also pot.

O.pen and Illegal Pete’s “share a strong consumer base of people who enjoy cannabis and people who enjoy great Mexican food — and they probably enjoy them together,” she said.

Illegal Pete’s founder said he was “stoked” when O.pen approached him with the idea of a collaboration, and he’s kicking himself a little bit for not thinking of the concept first.

The co-branded vape “isn’t going to taste 100% like queso; it’ll still be cannabis-forward,” Hallet said. “But it will have a cheese flavor to it, and it’ll be a bit more pungent in nature. I would describe it more as akin to blue cheese versus a cheddar cheese flavor.”

Buyers of the vape cartridges will get a coupon for free chips and queso at Illegal Pete’s.

“You can enjoy the queso vape product and then go try the real deal,” Hallet said. 

There’s a chance that the queso-inspired vape pen won’t be the only collaboration on which Illegal Pete’s and O.pen embark, Hallet said. The pair of companies are exploring the potential for a co-branded, THC-infused jarred queso.

“That’s something that we’re having high-level talks about, but it’s a much longer runway for development,” she said. “… The way that would work is that we’d bring (Illegal Pete’s) queso recipe into our kitchen and formulate it with THC, then package it in a compliant way” for sale at dispensaries rather than burrito restaurants. 

“We’re still working on some things,” Turner said. “… I think this is just the start of a good relationship with them.”

Illegal Pete’s has Boulder Valley and Northern Colorado locations in Boulder and Fort Collins. The chain expects to open a new restaurant in south Boulder later this year.

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