Rolling Stoner Session with Cannabury
Come On Up to the Social Lounge That Feels Like Home
Interviewer: Andrew Macfarlane
Transcriber and Writer: Marli Wentzel
When you walk through the door of Cannabury on Voortrekker Road in Malmesbury, you might initially wonder where the social lounge is hiding.
The sign on the storefront says cannabis, but step through the front door and you’ll find yourself in a wellness store that leads into a thrift shop with racks full of second-hand clothes.
While this might seem unusual, it’s entirely by design.
The true heart of Cannabury lies up the stairs, tucked inside a members-only social lounge that feels less like a commercial enterprise and more like a friend’s living room.
There’s a cosy red couch, a repainted dining table, and, when winter rolls in, blankets you can wrap yourself up in with a good book.
Rolling Stoner sat down with Willow and Michelle van der Westhuizen to learn how they created a welcoming space for the Malmesbury community.
A Different Kind of Cannabis Lounge
Willow’s relationship with cannabis stretches back decades. Michelle affectionately jokes that he’s,
“The stoner from the Stone Ages…”
His experiences with the plant have played an important role in shaping Cannabury.
Willow began using cannabis to manage anxiety after receiving medical assistance to taper off prescription medication that had been leaving him feeling disconnected from himself.
However, finding consistent, quality cannabis in Malmesbury was an ongoing challenge.
Before the town’s first cannabis social club opened, Willow would regularly travel to Paarl, Wellington and other destinations to find products he felt comfortable using.
Buying locally could be a gamble. On one occasion, Willow recalls throwing away 10 grams of cannabis because he believed it was contaminated.
These experiences helped shape his approach to Cannabury, particularly the importance of understanding where products originate and how they have been cultivated.
“I kept telling people I’m going to make sure we have proper quality here,” Willow said. “I’m going to sort you guys out.”
At the same time, Willow and Michelle had noticed something missing from the cannabis social scene.
Many existing venues embraced a lively, party-orientated club atmosphere. While there’s certainly a place for those establishments, it wasn’t quite what they wanted.
“We are not club people,” Michelle admitted.
Instead, they imagined somewhere quieter, where people could relax, have a conversation and spend time without feeling pressured to participate in organised activities.
They also had a personal interest in CBD and alternative wellness products, which helped inform the business’s broader approach.
But Willow explains that the original motivation went beyond cannabis itself.
“The main reason we opened Cannabury is community.”
Their idea was to create a welcoming environment where local adults could connect, relax and feel comfortable being themselves.
A Lounge Built by Request
Interestingly, the upstairs lounge wasn’t part of the initial plan.
Cannabury originally opened as a modest storefront, with the rooms at the back earmarked for administrative offices.
However, customers soon started asking whether there was somewhere they could sit and spend time together.
Michelle recognised the opportunity.
Some customers lived in rented accommodation where smoking was prohibited, while others wanted a separate adult social environment away from their homes.
Rather than continue with the office plans, the team transformed the available space into a small lounge.
The community became involved almost immediately.
Regular visitors would stop by while the space was being prepared, sharing suggestions about everything from the furniture arrangement to where artwork should hang.
“We’d be like, yeah, that’s actually a really good idea,” Michelle laughed. “Let’s do that.”
Before long, Cannabury’s popularity had outgrown the available room.
People were gathering outside, and their landlord offered them the opportunity to expand into the larger upstairs premises.
The decision was a significant step for the young business, particularly because the expansion happened considerably sooner than anticipated.
In approximately six months, Cannabury had evolved from a relatively small storefront into a much larger community-focused establishment.
And the actual move happened remarkably quickly.
The team relocated the original Bud Bar lounge upstairs on a Saturday, transformed the downstairs area into a thrift shop on Sunday, and welcomed customers again on Monday.
Michelle remembers watching regular visitors walk through the entrance, head towards the back and suddenly stop when they encountered racks of clothing instead of their familiar lounge.
“Upstairs,” she’d tell them.
Their initial confusion quickly turned into excitement when they discovered their favourite gathering place had simply moved into a bigger home.
Today, Cannabury operates with a membership website and more structured administrative systems, but the atmosphere remains deliberately personal.
“This place is a complete replica of our house,” Michelle explained.
Their first couch as a couple now sits upstairs, while an old dining table belonging to Michelle’s father has been given new life with a fresh coat of paint.
These aren’t carefully selected decorative pieces intended to recreate a fashionable aesthetic.
They’re objects with personal histories, brought together to make visitors feel welcome.
“Even though we’re not here,” Michelle added, “we are here.”
Giving Back Three Ways
The downstairs thrift shop is far more than an unusual addition to a cannabis business.
It has become one of Cannabury’s most meaningful ways of supporting the surrounding community.
“It’s the community that makes this shop work,” Michelle explained. “The community carries us, so we’d like to help carry as well.”
The shop relies heavily on clothing donations, supplemented by garments purchased specifically to prevent usable clothing from ending up in landfills.
Rather than approaching second-hand clothing purely as a retail opportunity, the team has developed a system that gives different garments a suitable destination.
Remade: Damaged or torn clothing is repurposed into new items, including Cannabury-branded roll bags and tote bags.
Sold: Clothing in good condition is placed on the thrift shop’s racks, where customers can discover affordable second-hand fashion.
Donated: Suitable clothing is packed into boxes and distributed to local night shelters and people in need.
During my visit, several boxes were already waiting near the back door, containing everything from workwear to children’s clothing and school uniforms.
There’s also a local employment element to the business.
Cannabury’s branded T-shirts are produced by a neighbourhood seamstress, helping keep some of the business’s spending within the community.
The result is a practical approach to sustainability that combines reuse, recycling, local skills and charitable support.
It’s a model that other small businesses could learn from.
Two Big Nights a Year
Cannabury isn’t the kind of venue that fills its calendar with events every weekend.
Instead, the team concentrates on two major annual celebrations, allowing them to put more thought and energy into each occasion.
The first is 4/20, an established date on the international cannabis calendar.
The second is Halloween (check out their Instagram account for more information about this year’s event!), which has become Cannabury’s biggest annual celebration in terms of attendance.
And judging by the stories Willow and Michelle shared, the community takes its costumes seriously.
One particularly memorable couple arrived dressed as Pyramid Head from the Silent Hill franchise, accompanied by his partner dressed as one of the game’s unsettling nurses.
The costumes were elaborate enough to earn them a win in the competition.
There’s something fitting about Halloween becoming such an important event for Cannabury.
Much like the lounge itself, the celebration gives people an opportunity to express their personalities, enjoy themselves and connect with others.
And, rather than trying to compete with larger entertainment venues, Cannabury has allowed its members to shape the character of these occasions.
Education, Understanding and Responsible Spaces
Cannabury’s approach to cannabis also includes an emphasis on understanding the plant and encouraging responsible adult behaviour.
For Willow and Michelle, cannabis is something that should be discussed openly and knowledgeably, rather than surrounded by unnecessary secrecy or misinformation.
Their interest extends beyond recreational use to include cultivation, plant characteristics and the potential applications of cannabinoids such as CBD.
They believe that a better understanding of cannabis starts with learning about the plant itself, including how it grows, how it is harvested and the importance of knowing where products come from.
This appreciation of cultivation also extends into their family life, where the plant is understood in a botanical and educational context.
However, the couple emphasise the importance of maintaining clear boundaries between adult cannabis activities and children.
At Cannabury, the upstairs social lounge is strictly reserved for adults aged 18 and older.
Willow and Michelle take this policy seriously, maintaining clear expectations about who may enter the private members’ space.
The emphasis is on creating a responsible environment where adults can socialise while respecting the boundaries that come with operating a cannabis-focused establishment.
It’s another example of how Cannabury aims to distinguish itself through community values, education and a considered approach to cannabis culture.
Under the Shell
Towards the end of our conversation, Michelle described Cannabury as her own little turtle shell.
It’s an image that fits the lounge perfectly.
While trends, events and the wider world continue moving at a relentless pace, Cannabury remains a place where nobody is expected to rush.
People can settle onto a couch, talk with friends, read a book or simply enjoy a quieter moment.
“I want you to feel like you’re coming into my house,” Michelle explained. “Having a smoke and leaving.”
And that is perhaps the best way to understand what Willow, Michelle and their fellow co-founder have created.
Cannabury began with a desire for greater consistency, a welcoming environment and a stronger sense of community.
But as the business developed, its customers helped shape what it eventually became.
The lounge expanded, the thrift shop developed into a way of giving back, and the community became part of the business’s creative identity.
Today, Cannabury offers something that goes beyond the conventional cannabis club experience.
It’s a combination of wellness, sustainability, community participation and an upstairs lounge that feels remarkably like someone’s home.
So, if you happen to be passing through Malmesbury, look for Cannabury on Voortrekker Road.
Step into the thrift shop, have a look around, and then head upstairs.
You might just find yourself staying a little longer than planned.