B.O.B. HQ gets pot sales licence from province

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This article was published 17/02/2018 (2768 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

B.O.B. Headquarters’ joint application to sell recreational cannabis has been declared a success, which means they should begin selling the long-prohibited substance as soon as it becomes legal this summer.

The Brandon-based company partnered with Tokyo Smoke, a national company that specializes in the sale of cannabis products.

A government release describes their joint application as building “a network of design-forward retail cannabis stores in Manitoba with a focus on customer experience, product selection and consumer education.”

B.O.B. Headquarters has been a fixture in Brandon for a couple decades, during which the retail and wholesale distributor has become known for their sale of cannabis-related products.

Co-owner Robert Ritchot said that although many of the details behind their opening of cannabis dispensaries still need to be hashed out, their overarching approach is already clear.

“We’re going to ensure everything we can to make sure this rolls out properly and that the government is proud of their selection,” he said. “We want to not only be tolerated in the communities that we move into, but that we’re a welcome part of those communities.”

Ritchot has already reached out to Westman Families of Addicts founder Danielle Lalonde with the intention of building a public education program together centred on drugs and addiction.

“I fully respect B.O.B. Headquarters and Robert Ritchot wanting to do this properly,” Lalonde said, adding that with cannabis becoming legal in a few months, this spring is the perfect time to kick things off right with an education blitz.

Ritchot said that he intends to make sure all of the staff members employed at cannabis dispensaries are well-enough educated on the product to provide meaningful advice and guidance to customers.

It’s one of many things Ritchot said that they’d need to do, adding that their real work has only just begun.

“Everything’s very, very early,” he said. “Although it kind of looks like we’ve reached a finish line, it’s a starting line as well.”

Two of the four conditionally accepted proposals were awarded to companies and a group of companies able to open up to a dozen retail spaces and the other two went to those able to open more than a dozen.

Ritchot said that their application was ambiguous on how many spaces they plan on opening up, and that the number of retail spaces they intend to open remains a question mark.

However, Ritchot was able to confirm that their current retail space at 658 18th St. is not in the running to sell cannabis.

“That business doesn’t have a square inch of space to spare, and it’s doing very, very well, so that’s going to stay as-is,” he said.

The provincial government’s previously stated intention is for legal recreational cannabis to become accessible within a 30-minute drive for approximately 90 per cent of the population, which points to the possibility of a few outlets opening throughout Westman.

The only other Brandon-based businessperson The Brandon Sun has become aware of to submit an application to open a recreational cannabis dispensary was Growers n’ Smokers, whose application was denied.

Owner Rick Macl said that he plans to continue moving forward as a head shop and hydroponic grow equipment retail space, with heavy leanings toward accommodating medicinal users.

Joining the B.O.B. Headquarters/Tokyo Smoke conditionally accepted proposal were three other contracts, awarded to:

• A consortium of Delta 9 Cannabis Inc. and Canopy Growth Corp. Delta 9 owns an 80,000-square-foot production facility in Winnipeg and plans to hire approximately 100 people for production and retail in the first year and an additional 100 the following year. Canopy Growth is headquartered in Smith Falls, Ont., and operates numerous production facilities around the world, with more than 700,000 square feet of production space.

• National Access Cannabis, which operates medicinal cannabis care centres across Canada and plans on adapting its medical clinic model to meet Manitoba’s recreational cannabis retail needs.

• A numbered Canadian corporation (10552763), featuring Avana Canada Inc. of Ontario, Fisher River Cree Nation of Manitoba, Chippewas of the Thames of Ontario, MediPharm Labs of Ontario and U.S.-based retailer Native Roots Dispensary.

In a release, the Manitoba government noted that it plans to work with all of the winning applicants during the coming weeks to ensure that requirements outlined in the request for proposals are met.

The provincial government received more than 100 applicants since launching the request for proposals process on Nov. 7.

While the government had previously announced July 2 as the grand opening date for these facilities, Growth, Enterprise and Trade Minister Blaine Pedersen said on Friday that the province is confident it’s “on track to have retail locations begin operating in Manitoba as early as July 2.”

» tclarke@brandonsun.com

» Twitter: @TylerClarkeMB