Denver marijuana dispensary faces foreclosure over $2,100 late fee

A West Wash Park dispensary is facing foreclosure over what its owners say is a $2,100 late fee.

The Herbal Cure, which has been selling marijuana at 985 S. Logan St. in Denver for the past 15 years, is scheduled to have its building auctioned off later this month after defaulting on a $2.6 million loan.

But Jula Burnham and her husband Brandon Burnham, who own the real estate as well as run the medical and recreational weed business, say the action stems from an error by their credit union in February.

A year ago, they took out the loan at 10% interest from PB and J LLC, records show. It was originally supposed to be paid off by August 2028 and was part of a refinancing of a loan they took out in 2020 from one of PB and J’s owners, William Vassil.

As of early June, none of the 2025 loan’s principal had been paid back, according to the lender, who filed to foreclose in June. In a court filing, the Burnhams say they’ve been continuing to make their regular monthly payments of $21,000 to pay off the interest, as outlined in the agreement.

In court records, the couple claims the foreclosure was caused by a late payment in February that was the fault of their credit union. They are asking a Denver District Court judge for a hearing on the case and to stop the auction of their building.

“We do not anticipate that this dispute will impact the operation or future of The Herbal Cure,” Jula Burnham said in an email to BusinessDen.

The Herbal Cure is an all-cash business. The Burnhams say their ability to make a loan payment on the first of the month depends on whether their credit union has processed their cash receipts.

“A month’s closing weekend receipts, its largest of the month, are not collected by THC’s armored car service until the following Monday and are not normally credited to its account until Tuesday,” the couple said in court records.

This is something they say PB and J knew, since the Burnhams had been similarly paying off the loan they took out from Vassil in 2020.

The Burnhams’ Feb. 1 payment to PB and J fell on a Sunday, and an error on the part of the couple’s credit union led to an invalid check being given to PB and J, they said in court filings. That’s despite specifically asking their contact at Partner Colorado Credit Union to ensure transactions were processed in a way that would allow the check to clear.

Brandon Burnham said he reached out to several of PB and J’s owners to let them know of the problem. He said he didn’t hear anything for six days after those calls, according to court records. On Feb. 9, PB and J “demanded” the $21,000 plus a 10% late charge of $2,100 by Feb. 13, the Burnhams said. On Feb. 13, the Burnhams wired PB and J the $21,000, they said.

Three days later, PB and J told the Burnhams the entire $2.6 million was owed immediately, with 18% annual interest if it remained unpaid, according to court records.

“What remains is a single disputed charge of $2,101.28, eight hundredths of one percent of the principal, on a payment (PB and J) acknowledged was delayed because Sterling’s (credit union) ‘let you down,’ cured within the period (PB and J) itself allowed,” the Burnhams told Denver District Court.

Since then, the Burnhams say they’ve wired their $21,000 monthly payments and PB and J has kept the cash, according to court records. But they haven’t paid the $2,100 late fee.

PB and J considers some of the $170,000 collected from February through September as “partial payments” of the $2.6 million principal with 18% interest, the Burnhams told the court.