Delta 9 rolls out locations for its first two pot stores in Manitoba

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This article was published 24/09/2018 (2771 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Delta 9 Cannabis has announced the locations for the first two cannabis stores in the province, launching a brand new retail category on Oct. 17 and possibly a whole new lifestyle option for Canadians.

The two stores — one in St. Vital and the other in the City Centre Mall in Thompson — will be operated under Delta 9 Lifestyles brand.

The St. Vital location, a 3,200 square-foot outlet located in St. Vital Square at 827 Dakota St., is being billed as a superstore, as much as twice the size of some of the other stores in development.

According to Delta 9 spokesman Gary Symons, the store will have the design feel of an Apple store with lots of space, clean lines and hardwood floors.

It will also be very well-staffed for the opening period. Delta 9 has already hired 35 people for the St. Vital store with the expectation that in the early days there will be about 10 people on site at any given time. The stores will be open from 10:00 a.m. to 10:00 p.m.

The store will also include an education centre.

“We expect there will be many people coming that are not involved in cannabis at all simply because it has been illegal and they don’t want to break the law so they don’t consume but they would if it was legal,” Symons said.

“There will be a fairly large cohort of people that come into the store who will need information. The last thing you want is people having a bad experience.”

Delta 9, which also serves as a wholesale supplier to Manitoba Liquor and Lotteries, was selected by the province to be one of the retail proponents in partnership with Canopy Growth, the large Ontario-based producer. Canopy, which will operate stores under the Tweed brand in Manitoba, also has locations ready to go on Oct. 17.

A Canopy official disclosed to the Free Press on Monday three Tweed locations — 1592 Regent Ave. W., 120 Osborne St. and 2705 Victoria Ave. in Brandon.

The Delta 9 store is licensed to sell dry bud and some cannabis oil. It will include a wide range of varieties from high potency bud such as Delta 9’s award-winning Super Lemon Haze variety, down to lower potency strains such as Delta 9’s house blend.

There are various controls over the formulation of the cannabis oils that can be sold and they will be of lower potency than, for instance, the kind of cannabis oils that are sold in legal stores in Colorado, Symons said.

Prices at Delta 9 will range from $8 to $12 per gram and there will likely be some varieties above and below that price range.

Various smoking paraphernalia such as pipes, bongs and rolling papers will also be for sale.

Both Delta 9 and Tweed stores will carry product from both companies as well as from other suppliers.

“As partners in this venture, Delta 9 and Canopy Growth are working hard to ensure we have the widest variety and best products available for our customers in Manitoba,” said Delta 9 CEO John Arbuthnot.

Delta 9 is waiting for final approval of two more stores: one in downtown Brandon and the other in Osborne Village.

In what is likely the worst kept secret in the business, Delta 9’s Osborne location will be on River Avenue west of Osborne Street in the same building where it has been operating a cannabis medical clinic for several months.

Kristianne Dechant, a spokeswoman for Liquor Gaming and Cannabis Authority of Manitoba, the cannabis retail regulator, said the companies can announce their locations whenever they want, but the LGCA has not yet issued final licences for any retail location.

“Obtaining a licence is one of the last things that happens before a store opens,” Dechant said.

The stores need to have occupancy and zoning permits in place as well as a series of security measures before the LCGA does its final inspection.

“Many are in the process of licensing and we have done initial site inspections for various locations,” she said. “But we have not done final inspection for any. But it is their business information and they are well within their rights (to publicly disclose sites) if they are planning location at that site.”

martin.cash@freepress.mb.ca