Calyx Peak is a vertically integrated multistate cannabis operator, headquartered in Las Vegas, that grows, extracts and sells under the Local Cannabis Co. name, with Smackers and Pinchy's as its other house brands. Co-founders Howard Keum and Michael Bang started it in early 2016, and the company runs in California, Missouri and Massachusetts.
Missouri is where the numbers are loudest. Headset ranked Local Cannabis Co. No. 6 in Missouri flower for August 2026, up from No. 10 a year earlier.
Two equities veterans and a Santa Barbara greenhouse
Keum and Bang came from global equities and equity research, New Cannabis Ventures reported in October 2019. The company's first grow opened in 2017 at a 235,000-square-foot facility in Santa Barbara County. The about page counts roughly $100 million raised since inception and sums up the approach in a motto: "Quality is a Right, Not a Luxury."
The money came in steps. In December 2018 Calyx Peak closed a $30 million round, with Altmore Capital committing $10 million and Bang serving as chief investment officer. By October 2019 the total topped $45 million, and by September 2020 it passed $50 million. The 2018 announcement counted seven permits and 250,000 square feet of cultivation, extraction and distribution space.
Suits, stoners and an Ohio detour
Ed Schmults, a former executive at Patagonia and FAO Schwarz, was CEO by December 2018 and still held the job in September 2020. He told New Cannabis Ventures he wanted "a unique combination of suits and stoners." The 2019 bench included chief operating officer Ben Cook, formerly of MedMen and Sam's Club, and vice president of finance Erin Carachilo, a former FAO Schwarz CFO.
The early footprint ran well beyond California. The company ran a Costa Mesa extraction lab and flower production in Nevada. In Akron, Ohio, the cultivation site took its first harvest in late January 2019 and picked up a processing license the same month. Schmults put the company's estimated Ohio flower share at 26% for 2019 to date. Nevada and Ohio now appear on the about page as previous markets.
Josh D and the 2019 Emerald Cup
The Santa Barbara grow made its name through Josh D Farms, founded by Josh Del Rosso. Leafly's David Downs called him "one of the West Coast's original growers of OG Kush." Del Rosso served as vice president of Josh D Brands at Calyx Peak, and the farm placed second in licensed mixed-light flower at the 2018 Emerald Cup.
A year later it owned the category. At the 16th Emerald Cup in December 2019, Josh D Farms took first in licensed mixed-light flower with Ice Cream Cake, Ganjapreneur reported. The same farm placed fifth with Ghost OG, seventh with Dynasty OG and tenth with Motor Breath. The winning Ice Cream Cake came out of a collaboration with the Local brand.
Local's founder, Dan Wittlinger, was Calyx Peak's director of cultivation, and Arnoldo Roman ran cultivation at the Santa Barbara farm. Leafly's winners roundup filed the same Ice Cream Cake entry under greenhouse flower. By November 2022 the company said its Santa Barbara County facility had produced Emerald Cup first-place flower every year since 2019.
Show-Me State scale in Smithville
Missouri awarded Calyx Peak five licenses, New Cannabis Ventures reported in September 2020: three for cultivation, one for manufacturing and extraction, and one for retail in Kansas City. Calyx Peak debuted its Missouri facility on November 9, 2022, as Missouri voters passed adult-use cannabis. The about page places the 82,500-square-foot cultivation and extraction facility in Smithville.
Keum projected more than 12,500 pounds of dried flower a year from the building, alongside extracts and manufactured products. By then Carachilo had moved up to chief executive, and Lee Hoffman was chief operating officer. The Local Cannabis Company flagship store sits at 1004 West 45th Street in Kansas City.
Local stores from Santa Monica to Swampscott
Local Cannabis Co. runs three storefronts:
- Santa Monica, California: 925 Wilshire Boulevard
- Kansas City, Missouri: 1004 West 45th Street
- Swampscott, Massachusetts: 16 New Ocean Street
Swampscott opened on December 12, 2022, about 15 miles up the coast from Boston and roughly 400 yards from the town's commuter rail station. "This establishes our retail footprint in our third state," Keum said at the opening. The release called it the first of two planned Massachusetts stores. The Local menu covers flower, pre-rolls, live rosin, live resin disposables and distillate cartridges.
Where Calyx Peak stands in 2026
Wholesale drives the Missouri story. Headset tracked Local Cannabis Co. in 119 licensed dispensaries in August 2026, 115 of them in Missouri, with sales up 36.3% year over year. Flower made up 64.3% of sales, and the brand ranked No. 7 in Missouri concentrates. The top sellers were an Orange 43 eighth, a 7-gram bag of Big Perm, a Big Head eighth and a WiFi #3 eighth.
In California, Higher Origins' license tracker, updated September 16, 2026, shows the Santa Monica store's retail license active through June 28, 2027. It names Howard Keum, Hyong-Gue Bang, Paul Song and Sang Yoon as owners. The tracker ties 12 active cultivation licenses to the same group under Bosim 1628 Management Company, LLC, most of them small mixed-light tier 2 permits.
For adults 21 and over.