A new farmers market is generating a lot of buzz in Las Vegas. But you won’t find avocados or fresh tomatoes there. The Underground at Acres Cannabis specializes in something different.
Attendees have the chance to check out cannabis products and flower from multiple sources instead of being locked into just one dispensary’s inventory. But there are other features of Acres Cannabis’ farmers market that will allow consumers to have a different experience from their typical dispensary visit. This farmers market features a DJ booth, graffitied walls, and Cadilac trunks serving as display cases for vendors.
Although cannabis is now legal in Nevada, Acres is looking to have fun by mimicking some of the old black market distributions models–before polished storefronts and branding become the norm.
“We really want to flip the old model upside down and pull back the school dealing out of trunks,” said CEO of Acres Cannabis John Mueller according to ABC affiliate KTNV.
The farmers market was designed to have a bit of a secretive or underground vibe. Customers walk down a dark tunnel from the main dispensary space to an urban-themed room.
“It’s a different experience. You could go to any dispensary in town and have a similar budtender experience,” Mueller said.
The timing for Acres Cannabis could be perfect as customers are still figuring out exactly which products they like.
“Legal cannabis is so new that people have not yet developed brand loyalty,” Mueller told The New York Post. “Usually they come into the dispensary and ask the bud-tender, or server, what they should get. How often does a customer walk into a bar or restaurant and ask the server what to drink or eat?”
The market is not only useful for consumers seeking greater choice. Members of the industry get a chance to see what their peers are up to and possibly exchange ideas.
“You can, like I said, learn so much just by being able to talk to the people who make it,” said Blake Folson, an employee with Evergreen Organix.
Mueller thinks the farmers market can bring members of the industry together instead of pitting them against each other.
“This is still a small industry and we are all working together. In marijuana, friendships seem to last longer than they do in other industries,” Mueller said.
The market is opens at 11 a.m. Fridays and Saturdays.
