Showcasing the best and brightest in Canadian cannabis retail.
Calyx + Trichomes
After a decade of advocating for the legal, regulated sale of cannabis the team behind Kingston’s Calyx + Trichomes jumped at the chance to participate in the regulated retail market. Their Kingston, Ontario location has now been open for two years.
Visit Calyx + Trichomes: 1105 Midland Ave., Kingston, ON
Follow Calyx + Trichomes: Twitter, Instagram, and YouTube
After a decade of advocating for the legal, regulated sale of cannabis the team behind Kingston’s Calyx + Trichomes jumped at the chance to participate in the regulated retail market. Their Kingston, Ontario location has now been open for two years.
This local, independently owned store employs a team of people who love their community and all feel like they're living the dream right now. For them, the best part about selling legal cannabis is “finally doing what we were put on this earth to do.” Says Jennawae McLean, CEO.
“We feel vindicated. We have climbed a huge mountain and now here we are at the top, especially thrilled to see some of our other friends from pre-legalization meet us there too. It has been a dream come true.”
Education and information are key to Calyx + Trichomes customer’s finding the right products for their needs. “We try to have the key information readily available.” Says Jennawae, “We have an area dedicated to education where customers can chat with our team about what products they might like.” At Calyx + Trichomes, they aim to make cannabis approachable and digestible, trying not to overwhelm those who are new to cannabis.
At Mercari, we’re always interested in hearing from retailers on how they decide what products to list in their menus so we asked Jennawae for her take. “We will try a case or two of anything that piques our interest.” She told us, “Is it a new variety from a company we like? Sure! Is it a new company we haven't tried? Definitely! Is it something that has been renamed or is generically named Indica/Sativa/Hybrid? It's probably a no (unless the price is low or the THC is bananas).”
If you’re in the Kingston area, be sure to stop by and see what’s new at Calyx + Trichomes!
K's Pot Shop
Buying your cannabis is part of the experience and the husband and wife team behind K’s Pot Shop were mindful about creating a comfortable spot for their customers to talk about cannabis.
Visit K’s Pot Shop: 1342 Queen St East Toronto, ON M4L 1C5
Follow K’s Pot Shop: Facebook and Instagram
Shopping is a big part of the cannabis experience and the husband and wife team behind K’s Pot Shop were mindful about creating a comfortable spot for their customers to talk about cannabis. “We just wanted to create a really comfortable spot to come and talk pot - and we LOVE talking pot.” Elisa, co-owner of Toronto’s Queen St East K’s Pot Shop tells us.
Elisa and her husband and business partner Sean both have had long and well-established careers but wanted to change things up. As cannabis culture advocates, they love weed and had always dreamed of opening a shop, so when legalization happened and the retail license lotteries in Ontario offered an opportunity, they took a chance and entered.
“ It’s a passion and a joy to be able to bring our experience and culture to cannabis and share that with consumers who are looking for that experience.”
“We strive to be a neighbourhood hub and feel like part of the community.” Elisa says, “It's definitely an eclectic space, and a real reflection of who we are.” She describes the comfy retail setting as essentially an extension of their own comfy living room, a place where people can relax in what Elisa calls a “safe space to ask questions” and find information about the cannabis products available.
“Sometimes it's helping the customer understand the benefits of the licensed market, sometimes it's explaining that there is more than THC when it comes to the plant.” She explains when we asked about her approach to education. “Sometimes it's helping people understand that they can choose the experience they want and how to find it through terpenes. Sometimes it's helping people decide on the right product - vape, edible, flower, etc. Many don't understand the differences and what experiences they can provide.”
Creating safe access to cannabis for their community is important to Elisa and Sean and so is providing interesting menu options. “We like to have a rotating menu of craft and small-batch - something may only be in stock for a short time, but it gives our regulars a chance to try many different things,” Elisa says.
Flower Pot
With Toronto’s cannabis retailers finally, able to open their doors to consumers again Flower Pot owner Sasha Soeterik is welcoming back her customers into her cozy and inviting retail space. We spoke with her about cannabis culture, retail design, and overcoming challenges.
Visit Flower Pot: 1006 Dundas Street West, Toronto
Follow Flower Pot: Twitter and Instagram
With Toronto’s cannabis retailers finally able to open their doors to consumers again, Flower Pot owner Sasha Soeterik is welcoming back her customers into her cozy and inviting retail space near Trinity Bellwoods Park. We spoke with her about cannabis culture, retail design, and silver linings.
“For me, weed was always a very peaceful way to relax,” says Sasha when asked about how she got into the cannabis industry in the first place. “There's something about having a joint at the end of the day, getting a chance to unpack everything you've been through. And yeah, never feeling hungover the next day, just feeling like it was a bit of a natural way to pass the time, you know, rather than ingesting something toxic.”
As lifelong weed smokers, Sasha and her partners were excited to jump into retail and be part of this new industry. They could see the demand in Toronto for people who know good cannabis and being local to the Trinity Bellwoods Park area, they were excited to find a space in the neighborhood to create their shop.
It’s important to Sasha and her team that their space feels cozy and comfy, like a living room where you feel welcomed. “I like the apothecary look, I've definitely been heavily influenced by a handful of shops in in Amsterdam.” She tells us.
“I want everyone to come in and feel like they have a spot here for a few minutes to chat with us about what they like, get what they like. ”
While the pandemic and ensuing lockdowns have presented challenges, Sasha maintains a positive outlook, finding silver linings such as discovering new ways to connect with her customers; “I like being able to deliver in person and do this connection with people who might be further afield who've heard of us just through the internet.” She says. Their approach to customer service is personalized and steeped in charm, guaranteeing curious first-timers and seasoned enthusiasts are catered to with every visit.
With a rich history in the legacy market and a genuine interest in seeing retail cannabis benefit consumers and communities around the country, the Flower Pot team is hoping to see more legacy retailers become licensed and stop being treated like criminals. “We should start helping people who were part of the grassroots of this (cannabis industry) get involved,” Sasha says, “This should not be out of reach.”
The Village Bloomery
A combination of wanting to participate in the wellness space, loving cannabis, and experiencing personal health benefits led husband and wife team, Andrea and Jeremy, to open one of Vancouver’s best-loved cannabis shops, The Village Bloomery. Learn more about this amazing retailer!
Visit The Village Bloomery: Unit 206 1540 West 2nd Ave, Vancouver
Follow The Village Bloomery: Twitter and Instagram
A combination of wanting to participate in the wellness space, loving cannabis, and experiencing personal health benefits led husband and wife team, Andrea and Jeremy, to open one of Vancouver’s best-loved cannabis shops, The Village Bloomery.
They were also drawn to the idea of participating in a social justice movement enabling them to share the benefits of the cannabis plant with people who were curious, but intimidated to explore it. It is important to the Village Bloomery team that customers have the tools to make insightful decisions with respect to cannabis and this idea has informed how their staff approach educating customers.
“We tend to ask questions,” Andrea says. “ We want to understand the person’s experience, preferences, and end goals. We want to get to a place where we can explain how the plant expresses itself through its genetics, its essential oils (terpenes), and its cannabinoids so that they (the customer) are in the driver’s seat when selecting a product to explore.”
At The Village Bloomery, the team takes a thoughtful and mindful approach to curating their menu by looking for products from producers who are focused on quality metrics other than bulk. The goal is to work towards a menu featuring 80% B.C. grown products and to look for folks who grow using micro production methods, meaning small grow rooms dedicated to single cultivars, ideally in organic living soil or with curated nutrient mixes, long flush terms, finishing with hand dried and hand trimmed procedures.
“We want to find producers with whom we are politically and socially aligned and while we realize that this is a big ask, it’s what we are going for! ”
A deep love for the plant-inspired Andrea and Jeremy, along with their team to support people to develop their own relationship with cannabis. “We love dry flower and we love products that allow people to celebrate their love of the flower daily,” Andrea says. “So self-care products like topical creams and bath products are nice, as are lovely edibles and CBD wellness-focused products.”