Tallulah and Ashley Guy are on the move.

Ashley Guy

In September of 2019, Guy opened her flagship CBD shop on Market Street, and now - just over three years later, Guy is launching her fifth and sixth shops - one in Midtown, and the other (a kava bar) in Bannerman Crossings, only a few feet away from her pre-existing Bannerman Crossings shop.

“We’ve really blown up,” said Guy.

A former teacher, Guy has been taking CBD for years to manage pain from chronic arthritis. 

“It was the only thing I found to manage the pain,” said Guy.

After Guy and her husband moved to Tallahassee, Guy chose to turn her knowledge of CBD and its benefits into a business - launching it in Tallahassee’s Market District.

“Everybody thought it was a bad idea,” said Guy. “But I said, ‘I’m doing this’.”

Guy acknowledges that smoke shops, CBD shops, and vape shops have a reputation for being ‘boys clubs’ and spaces where people feel uncomfortable venturing into the world of alternative energy.

It’s become her mission to break down that reputation.

“I try to make my shops accessible to people who normally wouldn’t feel comfortable going into a different vape or smoke shop,” said Guy. “The clientele we serve are the people who may have never tried this sort of product before.”

The mission of Tallulah, Guy says, is to bring together Kratom, Kava, and CBD products in a brightly lit, pleasant environment, and to make her shops a safe, accessible space for people of all walks of life.

Guy admits that at first, she had no idea what she was doing, but she learned something new about business ownership each day, and slowly improved her shop offerings, her community footprint, and now is feeling as though everything has worked out.

Roughly a year ago, Guy opened her Bannerman Crossings branch of Tallulah (located at 3437 Bannerman Road), and now, she is preparing to open a second location in Bannerman Crossings (this time a kava bar) as well as Midtown shop.

What exactly is kava?

Native to the Western Pacific, kava is a stimulating drink that is frequently consumed in fighting anxiety, stress, sleep problems, and drug withdrawal.

Guy says kava bars are growing quickly in popularity in South Florida, but are still a new idea for North Florida.

“Kava bars aren’t really big in Tallahassee, but they are getting big in other parts of Florida - so we decided it was time to bring it here,” said Guy.

The new kava bar - which will be located only a few feet from the pre-existing shop - will also serve kratom (another stimulating drink that is used to enhance moods and reduce pain), loose leaf teas, chai, and Lucky Goat cold brew.

In addition to all this, Guy said the bar will double as a lounge - serving up plenty of vibes.

“It will have an island feel,” she says. “It will be a space where people can just come in and hang out.”

With the ability to take drinks to go, or settle down for a conversation at one of the couches at the lounge, Guy envisions a place where people can feel safe experimenting with new forms of drinkable energy.

“We wanted people to have a place to hang out, a nice place,” adds Guy.

While Tallulah is a shop for all people, Guy especially wants women to feel at ease in all her stores, including the new lounge.

“We are 100% female owned - there are no secret investors. It’s just me. It is really invigorating to be the only decision-maker for my business,” said Guy.

As a female-owned business, Guy also feels it's important to keep her shop open to female shoppers - which is partially the reason behind the name ‘Tallulah’.

When opening her first shop in Market Street, Guy said she was searching for a name that branched away from the athletics and health-driven vibes of the CBD market.

“Honestly, I just wanted a fun, sexy, hippie female name for my shop,” said Guy.

‘Tallulah’ perfectly fits the bill.

“We will be the only female-owned Kava bar,” said Guy.

But that is not the only thing Guy says makes them stand out from the rest.

“We pay our employees well. We have good staff. We have nice, clean stores with good employees,” Guy adds. “We kinda just follow our own model.”

It is also the stellar customer service, the staff’s knowledge of products, and the wide variety of product selection that Guy says makes Tallulah stand out from her competitors.

It is that outstanding business model - all her own - and Guy’s lack of fear when it comes to growth that is making this second Bannerman Crossings location a possibility.

Tallulah Kava Bar manager Jasmina Claude

“I’m not afraid of growing,” concludes Guy. “If you have a really good product, you can let yourself grow, and grow fast.”

The kava bar will open on November 7; it will be located at 3437 Bannerman Road, Suite 104.

The bar will be open Sunday-Thursday from 9 a.m. - 9 p.m., and Friday and Saturday from 9 a.m. - 10 p.m.