Who wants pot: ‘From 90-year-olds to 19-year-olds’
Three weeks after opening, St. Catharines cannabis store owners getting a feel for the new market
You learn a few things when you start selling a product that has never been sold in Canada — not legally, at least.
Things like, what kind of clients you’ll attract.
“From 90-year-olds to 19-yearolds. It’s amazing,” said Max Bonilla, who co-owns The Niagara Herbalist cannabis store in St. Catharines with his sister, Jessica, and her husband Kevin Trethowan.
“Actually our customers are mostly over 35. We don’t get very many younger people here,” Bonilla said.
“So, when you have three ladies in their 70s who say, ‘What’s the most potent thing you’ve got because me and my girls want to get high tonight?’ we’re very surprised. Pleasantly surprised.”
The store, on Lakeshore Road near Lake Street, is one of the first 25 retail cannabis outlets allowed to operate in the province. Most, like The Niagara Herbalist, opened April 1.
A few were delayed, including Choom Cannabis in Niagara Falls. It’s expected to open in early May in a standalone store on the Niagara Square property.
At The Niagara Herbalist, a rope barrier is set up on the sidewalk outside to handle customer traffic at peak hours. A security guard is posted near the door.
Due to the nature of the product (and because a large crowd was expected), Niagara Regional Police attended opening day.
Since then, said Const. Phil Gavin in an email, “we haven’t been called to the plaza any more than normal.”
“We haven’t given our officers any direction to changing their patrols based on the opening of the cannabis retail storefront. Whether or not the individual officer drives through the parking lot more or less is at their discretion.”
Gavin said there was one incident involving someone “causing a disturbance/uttering threats in front of the business,” but declined to elaborate, citing an ongoing investigation.
Trethowan said it has been “a learning curve not just for us, but for every cannabis retail store” in Ontario.
“We had a good idea from stats that we got elsewhere that there was a significant market for it. But we didn’t realize the demand was just so high.”
He added: “And the fact we have people from all walks of life. We have first-time users here at 19. We had someone in here the other day who was 90 years old and wanted to try the CBD oil. I
think they said they’d used it in the past.”
Inside, the store layout kind of resembles a small Apple Store. Or a jewelry shop.
Small samples of marijuana products are displayed in secure, clear plastic cases that are vented, so the customer can smell as well as see the product.
Salespeople answer questions about cannabis potency, price and the effect it might have on a user. For private conversations between staff and shoppers, there is a room set aside.
Thirteen people work there, in addition to the owners. The store was recognized for paying workers a living wage.
Between the federal, provincial and local governments, the Alcohol
and Gaming Commission and local police, it’s a highly regulated industry. According to rules, no one under 19 is allowed in and the storefront must be fully covered so minors can’t even see inside if they’re passing by.
The store can set its own prices and put some items on sale, but can’t offer inducements like 2-for-1 sales.
“You get people coming in and they say, ‘Well, I can get it cheaper from my guy,’ and this and that,” said Trethowan. “But we don’t pay much attention to that. The black market is irrelevant to us.”
All the stores must purchase their cannabis products from the government, which Trethowan and Bonilla said guarantees safety and quality.
If it’s been a learning curve for operators and the public, it’s also a new experience for neighbours. Those businesses have never had a marijuana store next door.
It’s been “like any other store, except the lineups outside,” said Sue MacKenzie, owner and travel consultant at Old Port Travel.
“It’s busy. There are people in and out and they’re blocking the sidewalk, that’s one problem … it’s really like an LCBO, they’re just in and out, in and out.”
But she hasn’t seen an increase in business. “Zero. Zero,” she said, making a 0 with her fingers.
Mike Guarasci, manager of Bugsy’s restaurant and pub on the other side of The Niagara Herbalist, said “I’ve got zero complaints.” He is getting some of the Herbalist’s customers coming in for a drink or a meal.
“Honestly, it’s been pretty positive,” he said. “I don’t know what people think is going to happen, but it’s been a lot of regular folks going in and buying their product and leaving.
“It’s not like they’re lighting up as soon as they get out of the store … from my perspective, it seems like a lot of curiosity by people.”