Even though it took a little longer than expected, Delta 9 Cannabis says they are finally ready to open their doors in Thompson later this month.
Delta 9 chief marketing officer Marshall Posner told the Thompson Citizen that the grand opening of their store in City Centre Mall beside Kicks& Threads will take place Sept. 27.
“We’re looking forward to coming up to Thompson,” he said Sept. 11. “Our slogan for bringing Delta 9 to Thompson is ‘Weed the North’ so we’re going to be giving away t-shirts on opening day to that effect.”
Posner went on to say that they are just putting the finishing touches on the store’s interior and will begin stocking the shelves this upcoming week.
Delta 9 Thompson will start out with a staff of around a dozen employees, many of whom were recruited during a local job fair Sept. 5-6.
This grand opening has been a long time coming for Delta 9.
After being one of four successful bids to sell marijuana legally in Manitoba in early 2018, the retailer originally predicted that they would set up shop in Thompson by the end of that year.
However, Nisichawayasihk Cree Nation and National Access Cannabis beat them to the punch by opening Meta Cannabis Supply Co. in the Mystery Lake Hotel on Dec. 12, 2018.
Even though they are not the first local marijuana store, Posner said Delta 9 will make up for it through competitive pricing and their sheer selection of products.
“Some of our stores carry over 60 different strains and the goal is to have a great selection of cannabis up there as well,” he said.
After the second round of federal cannabis legalization kicks in on Oct. 17, Posner said Delta 9 will be able to sell an even larger selection of cannabis products like edibles, vape pens and chocolate candies by December.
Delta 9 selected the City Centre Mall as their home base because it provides the perfect combination of convenience and security for its customers, Posner said.
“Being in the mall it’s a destination for people to go run some errands, so while they’re there they can just pick up their cannabis,” he said. “We also just want our customers to feel safe and being in an isolated strip mall or in a standalone store might not provide that same level of security.”
Following their grand opening in Thompson, Delta 9 will have four locations in Manitoba, including two stores in Winnipeg and one in Brandon.
A third cannabis retailer, Garden Variety, also announced their intention to open a store in the Hub of the North back in 2018.
In April of this year, city manager Anthony McInnis received an email from Jacqueline Ratté Kohut of the provincial Growth, Enterprise and Trade department, which indicated that Garden Variety was hoping to set up operations in New Town Square located on 90 Thompson Drive.
