Full Tank, one of Burlington’s iconic pipe shops, was established in 1998 and celebrated its 20th birthday this past July. Currently, the store is owned by Stephen and Alexa Sclafani. Stephen has been running Full Tank since 2002, and was recently joined in the business by his wife Alexa, who created Full Tank CBD, their house brand of craft-made CBD Products.
Stephen started selling glass and hemp products on Dead tour, and originally moved to Vermont in from New Jersey in 1996. He opened The Grassharp, his first retail brick and mortar store on Burlington’s Church Street, in 1998, and bought Full Tank in 2002.
Full Tank at Hemp Fest
Originally from Washington D.C., Alexa moved to Burlington in 1996 to attend UVM. While she moved to New York after graduating, she and Stephen had many mutual friends, and their paths kept crossing through Phish. “It was,” she says, “an easy choice to move back to Burlington.”
“Everyday I find a new use for CBD and my passion for cannabis grows and my desire to share the magic of this medicine is what motivates me.”
With a background in food service and wine, Alexa was beyond excited when CBD edibles entered the scene. “All of my favorite things could be wrapped into one business!” She adds, “at first I thought CBD would just be a great place holder for THC edibles. Then I discovered the incredible power of CBD as I began to immerse myself in it. Everyday I find a new use for CBD and my passion for cannabis grows and my desire to share the magic of this medicine is what motivates me.”
Stephen, she says, is having a similar experience in the shop talking to customers sharing the healing potential of cannabis. “We feel extremely lucky to be situated where we are.”
Their mission at Full Tank is to support local glass blowers, and feature craft made products ranging from pipes to CBD products. They strive, says Alexa, “to be the friendliest shop in town where everyone is comfortable hanging out and asking questions.” After all, she says, “cannabis is fun so we try not to take ourselves too seriously.”
Walking into the store, you can see their dedication to glass craft in the displays of quirky, creative, entertaining, and deeply beautiful pipes. They also have clothing, jewelry, records, bags, concert posters, and a host of other lifestyle paraphernalia.
A great historical tidbit about Full Tank is that they were Burlington’s original glass shop, and they have a priceless collection of historically significant pieces.
When asked if legalization has changed anything for their business, the Sclafanis say, of course, they get if they sell weed. Which, naturally, they don’t. Yet.
Their future plans, as Vermont’s legal cannabis landscape develops, are to continue to grow their own CBD line and expand the brand to include THC with a focus on edibles while maintaining their current spot as one of the big players in the pipe shop game.
