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The parent company of The Sacred Mushroom, an 11,000-square-foot psilocybin retreat that promised good times for patrons and wealth for its shareholders, says a lack of capital is forcing it to take a hard look at the operation.
“In April 2025, we suspended payroll to our employees due to capital constraints, and we are evaluating the operational structure of the facility with a view to restructuring operations in order to generate greater revenues,” Kaya Holdings Inc. said in a filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission last month.
Kaya, based in Boca Raton, Fla., opened the Sacred Mushroom on the seventh floor of a building in what it calls the “gentrifying Old Chinatown area of downtown Portland” in August, festooning the space with massage chairs, singing bowls, and lots of plants.
Most psilocybin service centers—facilities licensed by the state where customers trip under supervision—are geared toward mental health. The Sacred Mushroom offers recreation, too, pitching the space for corporate retreats, Halloween and even the Super Bowl (“Riding the Shroom Boom,” WW, Aug. 21, 2024).
Financial results indicate the idea has yet to catch on. Kaya reported revenue of just $7,134 in 2024, and a loss of $2 million.
In SEC filings, Kaya said it was the first publicly traded company to “operate a U.S.-based licensed psychedelic treatment facility.” Despite that distinction, Kaya shares have lagged the rest of the stock market, bouncing between 3 and 4 cents a share since the beginning of the year after peaking at 5 cents in 2024. The Standard & Poor’s 500 Index, by contrast, has risen 18% in the past 16 months.
Reached by phone for comment, Kaya chief executive Craig Frank said: “We’re still in business, and I have nothing to say to you guys.”
Psilocybin is a new business for Kaya, which began selling cannabis in 2014, first in Oregon, and then in Greece. Like others in the mushroom business, Kaya pivoted to psilocybin when the overcrowded market for cannabis cratered.
Kaya’s “legal medical and recreational marijuana business (which it has focused on in Oregon since 2014 and in Greece since 2020) has not generated sufficient revenue to enable the company to achieve profitability,” the company said. “In addition, the overall US market for legal marijuana has not been as robust as anticipated because of the lack of legalization on a federal level. Accordingly, we have recently reduced our US retail operations and expanded into establishing a psilocybin therapy and treatment center in Portland, Oregon where such treatment has recently been legalized.”
The psilocybin market is proving to be difficult, too, especially for service centers, which are required by state law to pay an annual license fee of $10,000 and to install security cameras and systems that cost additional thousands. Several centers have closed, including the Journey Service Center, which shuttered in March 2024.
As of May 5, 26 service centers had been licensed to operate, three service licenses have expired, and another three have been surrendered, according to the Oregon Health Authority, which administered the legal psilocybin program.
“A number of factors” prompt operators to surrender licenses or forgo renewal, OHA spokeswoman Erica Heartquist said in an email, including a paucity of clients.
“Licensees face many challenges,” Heartquist wrote. “Major health insurance companies do not cover psilocybin services at this time, and licensees are faced with challenges related to banking, liability insurance, and tax filing. In addition, finding property can be challenging for a service center or manufacturer as prospective business owners must navigate local government prohibitions and zoning requirements.”