A look at the Denver-based grow operation of Kindman.
DENVER — Locals and tourists alike recognize Kindman as an institution that has been a pioneer on the cannabis frontier. CEO Ryan Fox launched Kindman as a medical dispensary in 2009. The business is a successful producer, as well as owning and operating The Grass Station, a retail store which is in the process of opening a second location.
“When Kindman started out, we had these big goals to grow and be a brand and a product,” Fox said. “We wanted to be the Coca-Cola of weed in Colorado.”
After five years in the Colorado market, Kindman now employs more than 75 people through its retail location and indoor grow operations.
“We were really successful with production and growing and getting really good consistent quality. In 2013 we decided to make the transition into being a recreational shop and producer in Colorado,” Fox said. “So in 2013 we took Kindman and made it a brand of cannabis. It’s sold throughout the state to numerous different dispensaries.”
Fox’s recreational store, The Grass Station (www.grassstationco.com), was one of the first medical dispensaries in Denver to adopt recreational sales. The decision to become a recreational storefront was a no-brainer for Fox who embraced the opportunity to sell to anyone over 21.
The Grass Station occupies a unique space between pioneering the recreational cannabis market in Colorado while providing a traditional Route 66 aesthetic that’s usually reserved for diners and roadside attractions.
“It’s a candy store for weed,” laughs Fox.
Although flower buds outsell any of the other products at The Grass Station five-to-one, Fox has created an octagon of sales points within the store to ensure that no question goes unanswered and every customer gets served adequately. By keeping eight budtenders on staff, each capable of ringing up sales, The Grass Station can handle a high sales volume.
Looking forward, Fox said he sees a great future for Kindman as a brand and as a retailer.
“We’re trying to expand. We’re hoping to be in 50 stores by the end of 2014,” Fox said. “We’re in the process of conversion now, from medical to recreational and as soon as that’s done we’ll have our second location that’ll also go under the name Grass Station. We’re going to eventually have a chain of those stores as well.”
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