Six retail Marijuana stores apply for opening extensions
Grand Junction Grants Extensions for Marijuana Retail Store Openings.
Four applicants for retail marijuana stores in Grand Junction received extensions to open at a hearing Wednesday, with two more extension applications still pending.
Stores had one year after the lottery held March 31, 2023 to open for business, but are allowed to file for extensions. Ten applicants were chosen for retail marijuana business licenses. Four stores have opened: Lucky Me Dispensary, Colorado Weedery, the Grand Junction Greenery and Native Roots.
The Garage, located at 545 Colorado Ave., received a three-month extension, and appears to be the next in line to open for business.
The Garage’s representatives said the business is in line to be open before the March 31 deadline, but they want to be safe.
Construction is almost done and all the licensing is on track, according to the representatives.
The Green Horizon, located at 739 Horizon Dr. Unit B, received a six-month extension.
Green Horizon representative Jim Cagle said things are moving along and the six-month extension should work.
Colorado Weedery opened its Grand Junction location on Nov. 1, becoming the second of 10 retail marijuana shops in the city to open. Colorado Weedery’s Grand Junction location is located at 879 Struthers Ave., near Las Colonias Amphitheater.
Scott Crabtree/The Daily Sentinel
“The only thing that slowed us down was the modification of the plans, we had to do a hearing then, that took like six weeks to two months,” Cagle said. “So we really couldn’t do anything with our floor plans until that was approved.”
Kai Dispensary, located at 914 South Ave., received a one-year extension.
“We have a construction plan, and we would be finished by fall, but that hinges on getting past planning, we’ve been hung up time and again there,” Kai Dispensary representative Joey Coleman said.
Kai Dispensary is knocking down a building and building a new one.
“We’re the only ones who are building from the ground up, so it just comes with a whole new list of problems that the other applicants haven’t quite run into,” Coleman said.
The Buzz, located at 1022 N. 3rd St., also received a 12-month extension and permission for minor site updates related to moving a drive-thru window, interior doors, adding a hallway/closet and an updated security plan.
Native Roots, which opened last week as Grand Junction’s fourth recreational marijuana shop, will have the city’s first medical marijuana catalog. The medical marijuana catalog will be available in 1-2 weeks.
Canna Care, located at 2730 U.S. Highway 50, will need another hearing before it gets an extension.
Hearing Officer Stephanie Rubinstein said she would like more information about the timeline and site plan before she grants an extension. Canna Care is also requesting minor site plan changes, specifically eliminating the second level of the store.
“I don’t want to do the wrong type of time frame, and we just have some questions that need to be answered,” Rubinstein said.
Canna Care representative Lawrence Balerio said the changes he’s requesting are minor.
“The issue is the second story on there, structurally the engineer didn’t feel that the space below was adequate to support that, therefore it was going to be a major remodel,” Balerio said.
Balerio said he will be able to submit a minor site plan to the city Monday.
A colorful painted mural inside the Grand Junction Greenery will welcome customers in a few days, as the dispensary plans for a grand opening Friday. It will be third retail marijuana dispensary to open in Grand Junction.
Golden Rookie, located at 605 Grand Ave., applied for an extension to coincide with a documentary being produced about the business.
Golden Rookie representative Alameen Abdool said the timeframe for the documentary is 6-8 months.
Rubinstein said there are still some things that need to be done through Grand Junction’s community development department related to the business’s minor site plan, which would also cause a delay in opening and would be a possible reason for an extension to be granted.
Grand Junction City Attorney John Shaver said he would like to hear more about why the documentary’s production is important for opening the business.
The matter has been continued to an additional hearing.
