One of Denver’s oldest surviving marijuana dispensaries is staring down a public trustee auction over a late fee that started at just $2,100. Jula Burnham and Brandon Burnham, who own both the real estate and The Herbal Cure business at 985 S. Logan St., have asked a Denver District Court judge to stop the sale of their building, arguing the entire foreclosure traces back to a February banking error rather than any genuine default.
The Herbal Cure has sold marijuana for 16 years in Denver’s West Washington Park neighborhood, near the corner of South Logan Street and East Mississippi Avenue, according to property records reviewed by Zillow. Brandon Burnham officially opened the shop on April 1, 2010, after registering the business the year prior, making it one of the city’s earliest mom-and-pop operations to survive the leap into full recreational legalization, per historical background published by Culture Magazine. As first reported by The Denver Post, the dispute now threatens to take the property to auction on October 22.
A Banking Error Sets Off the Dispute
According to the Post’s reporting, the Burnhams borrowed from PB and J LLC at 10% interest, refinancing a 2020 loan originally extended by William Vassil, with the new note not due until August 2028. The Herbal Cure operates as an all-cash business and depends on credit-union processing of its cash receipts to make its first-of-the-month loan payments, the Post reports. The Burnhams made regular monthly payments of $21,000, but the Post notes that because the February 1 payment fell on a Sunday, closing weekend receipts collected the following Monday are normally credited by Tuesday — a timing quirk that proved costly.
Per the Post’s account, Partner Colorado Credit Union provided an invalid check to PB and J that month, prompting Brandon Burnham to contact several PB and J owners about the payment problem. PB and J then demanded the $21,000 payment plus a 10% late charge of $2,100 by February 13, 2026, the outlet reports. The Burnhams wired the $21,000 that day, according to the same account, but PB and J came back three days later demanding immediate payment of the entire $2.6 million balance, along with 18% annual interest if that sum remained unpaid.
Escalation to a $2.6 Million Default Claim
The Burnhams have disputed the $2,101.28 charge itself and did not pay it, the Post’s reporting indicates, even as they continued wiring their regular $21,000 monthly payments after February. PB and J kept those payments, the outlet reports, and treated some of the roughly $170,000 collected between February and September as partial payments of principal carrying the 18% interest rate rather than the original 10% rate. The lender filed to foreclose in June 2026, and as of early that month none of the 2025 loan’s principal had been repaid, according to the Post…