LAS VEGAS NEVER SLEEPS, and neither does Nuwu Cannabis Marketplace. The mammoth retail store covers an impressive 15,800 square feet and is open until midnight during the week and 2 a.m. on the weekends. Nuwu also boasts the state’s first 24-hour drive-through. Located on land belonging to the Paiute Tribe of Las Vegas, Nuwu (“the people” in the tribe’s indigenous language) was designed to create a community around a massive marketplace made of wood and delicate lighting where people could come and go as they please without having to wait in lines. The store’s open-air-market atmosphere with modern, industrial touches evokes a European outdoor bazaar. The cavernous open space also allows Nuwu to host industry events, celebrity guests, and vendor pop-ups without anyone feeling claustrophobic or disrupting the regular business flow.
General Manager Jen McClaning takes pride in making sure the store has a little bit of everything and something for everyone. “We cater to the people of Las Vegas, so if there is something we don’t have in our selection, we make a note and find it,” McClaning said. “We offer flower pre-packaged in grams, eighths, quarters, half-ounces, and ounces. The convenience of pre-rolls and edibles make them both popular items for guests on vacation as well as locals on the go. We have a lot of regular extract customers who keep coming back for the large selection of vape pens and raw concentrated strains.”
However, it’s their in-house brand, INDO, that gets most of the attention. The strain tests high for THC and always is in demand, McClaning said. CBD products also are very popular with locals and tourists. “We have a multitude of options when it comes to ingesting CBD,” she said. “We have topicals, vape pens, extracts, edibles, flower testing high in CBD with little to no THC, and even CBD for pets.”
Every customer at Nuwu is greeted by friendly faces and smiles. The budtenders take pride in knowing their jobs, knowing the menu, and working with shoppers. McClaning explained a job fair in September 2017 helped management find personable people with good energy who were excited to begin a career at Nuwu. “We asked the right questions to find those who had expertise and qualifications in each position we were hiring for,” McClaning said. “Some came with experience from other dispensaries; others had tremendous skillsets paired with a passion for the industry. We ended up with an exceptional crew of budtenders who were able to learn and flourish with one another. Our team is now around 100 employees and growing.” Fifteen to twenty employees are Nevada Paiutes, a tribe that claims just fifty-six members.
The shop’s multiple inventory specialists keep the massive store stocked and ready to go for foot traffic. The budtenders are quick at taking orders, while the plethora of cashiers are efficient and friendly. After being open for just over three months, Nuwu seems to be humming along with no glitches. The stellar reviews on WeedMaps say as much. And customers love the drive-thru. The local hotel and casino workers get off work at all times of the day and night, and Nuwu’s owners wanted to ensure cannabis products were available for them around the clock. “We also wanted to make things easier for our elderly customers and those with disabilities who may struggle to come inside the store,” McClaning said.
Walking through the massive store, one can’t help being most impressed with Nuwu’s paraphernalia selection: T-shirts, books, games, glass, and many cannabis-oriented odds and ends. McClaning said accessories sales compose a large share of the shop’s success. “We have some of the best prices in town for glassware and accessories,” she noted. “There is no need to make a second stop for papers, grinders, pipes, bongs, vaporizers, and other accessories. We look forward to bringing more designs to our apparel line as well as carrying apparel from some of Las Vegas’s favorite brands.”
What does McClaning like the most about working at the world’s largest cannabis dispensary?
“Educating the public is a huge focus, since most of what people know about cannabis has been through propaganda,” McClaning said. “The more people who become aware of the plant’s healing abilities, the more people will be able to benefit from it.”
Nuwu Cannabis Marketplace
1235 Paiute Circle
Las Vegas
Nuwu.vegas
