DENVER – Native Roots has completed the second of two license transfers in Denver this Spring, opening a new medical and retail marijuana store that will serve as the company’s flagship and bring their statewide store count to 20.
The opening at 500 Grant Street in the Greater Capitol Hill area is the culmination of a multi-year process to relocate the organization’s flagship license, after a dispute with the City over the address forced the company to shutter its previous flagship on 16th Street Mall in downtown Denver. This location will draw crosstown business commuters along Speer Boulevard; it is also a walkable and bikeable cannabis shopping destination for the active community members in the Speer, Capitol Hill, Alamo Placita, Cherry Creek, Country Club, and Washington Park area.
“We feel incredibly lucky to be opening this new store during the pandemic,” said Ryan Brown, Chief Executive Officer for Native Roots. “We searched extensively for over a year for a suitable location in Denver to relocate our flagship. We wanted a high-traffic, traditional retail location that could fully embrace a new vision not just for our refreshed brand, but for the customer experience with cannabis generally. Serving the medical patient community continues to be a priority for our company, and we needed enough space to accommodate both medical and retail sales. We are also very appreciative of the welcome we received from the neighborhood and look forward to being able to provide a spacious new store that is well catered to providing peace of mind in light of the real concerns around shopping amid the coronavirus.”
The store is the second to open under a refreshed Native Roots Cannabis Co. brand and is designed with the intent to offer customers more than just a place to purchase cannabis; it’s also a place to learn and discover. “Since cannabis was legalized for adult-use, the customer experience has almost always started and stopped with a conversation between a retail employee and a customer,” says Denise De Nardi, Vice President of Sales. “Our new store design allows customers to explore and choose their own path to product discovery, whether that be browsing on their own or through conversations with our educated retail staff. It’s a shift from a transactionally-focused environment into a more engaging retail experience that generates more value for our customers.”
Recognizing that COVID-19 will continue to be a public health concern for the foreseeable future, Native Roots will use the building’s existing drive through feature to serve patients and customers. Pending final approval from the City of Denver, the drive through will allow for further ease of online ordering and to-go style pickup that has become popular since the coronavirus pandemic began. Furthering the goal to provide safe essential cannabis products through reduced contact methods, the company is also advocating for the City to approve marijuana delivery and the Speer Boulevard store could serve as a cannabis delivery hub for patients and adult customers alike.
Community is a company value at Native Roots and the new store opening is an exceptional example of engaging with residents to not only tolerate, but embrace cannabis as a desired business in their neighborhoods. Not one, but three registered neighborhood organizations vouched for Native Roots being a “good neighbor” at their public hearing last summer. Leading up to the opening, the company also worked with two community organizations – Capitol Hill United Neighborhoods (CHUN) and The Color of Cannabis – to identify candidates and hire for new positions in the store.
To foster a socially distant Grand Opening celebration, Native Roots is organizing a community service project in the neighborhood in June with CHUN where community members who come to support the beautification of the neighborhood will receive a special in-store appreciation. Customers can also show their support for the community and comply with various statewide face covering orders by purchasing a Native Roots bandana in store. 100% of the proceeds from the bandana purchases support The Chanda Plan Foundation’s Mask Mission, ensuring persons with physical disabilities and compromised immune and respiratory systems can protect themselves and those close to them from the novel coronavirus.
About Native Roots Cannabis Co.
Native Roots Cannabis Co. is one of Colorado’s most successful vertically integrated medical and adult-use cannabis operators. Native Roots has 20 dispensary locations across Colorado, serving thousands of adult consumers every day and the state’s largest number of registered patient members. With over a decade of experience in providing cannabis to patients and adult consumers, Native Roots has won national recognition for its sustainable business practices, retail design, high quality products, and employment practices.
Since 2010, Coloradans have turned to Native Roots as their trusted leader in cannabis for wellness and recreation. Native Roots offers a vast assortment of affordable products and a welcoming environment for cannabis beginners and experts alike. Rooted in the community, we are Colorado’s Happy Place.
