Senior editor Patrick Wagner ventures offline and outside to meet retailers IRL
Austin Kunziker at Golden Dispensary in Goldendale.
`I wouldn’t exactly say I was “excited” about making a road trip to Southeastern Washington cannabis stores, not that I have anything against my dusty, desert-dwelling fellow Washingtonians, but more that it feels almost arrogant to show up at a business and demand their time. As if to say, “I know you planned on operating today, but I’m here with a camera so please show me around your store and answer all my questions.”
I was genuinely timid about the whole process, like I am going to be booed out of the store the moment I showed up. Marijuana Venture publisher Greg James regularly takes to the road and visits stores on random whims, but he has that I’m already successful kind of confidence where you can’t tell if the confidence was derived from his success or the success was derived from his confidence. Either way, criticism bounces off that guy like he’s Teflon, and trust me when I say I’ve been trying to take him down a peg for years and more often than not I only strengthen his resolve. But, needless to say, we approach things differently and I worry a little more about how I am being received.
Heidi Valdron (left) and Marsha Coronado at Walla Walla Weedery.
But if I’ve learned one thing on God’s Green Earth as a son, father, husband and, most often, as an employee, is that my feelings don’t typically factor into what needs to be done. So, on a summer Tuesday I left my cozy mountain village of North Bend for Eastern Washington with my family in tow.
And of course, my gut instinct was wrong. I made stops at five stores and everyone was incredibly nice and spoke to me at length about their stores. They posed for photos and even listened to my shameless pitch as to why they should come to our Interchange buying events. (And while I’m on the subject, you should attend. Especially if you’re a retailer. It’s free, it saves you a ton of time and it’s two days of being catered to, checking out samples from vendors and hanging out with other operators. It’s a good time and I know it has to be better than a typical Tuesday and Wednesday for most of us.)
James Szubski from Margie’s Pot Shop.
My first stop was at Margie’s Pot Shop on Wednesday morning. I want to emphasize that it was a full day from when I left to when I made my first stop because while Google estimated that the drive would only be about two hours, it doesn’t have a setting that adjusts the drive time for having a 4- and a 6-year-old in the backseat. Thankfully, Margie’s owner James Szubski gave me a guided tour of his fantastic cannabis store and walked me through how he inadvertently turned the store into a hub for paranormal enthusiasts and simultaneously became the world’s leading authority on the Klickitat Ape Cat — but more on that in a later article. But Szubski set the bar high and removed my lingering apprehensions about stopping by stores in a single swoop.
Leaving on a high, my next stop was a short drive, at least by Eastern Washington standards, over to Golden Dispensary, which is conveniently just off Highway 97, in Goldendale. Austin Hunziker was working behind the counter and chatting it up with a local when I arrived, while I was there and as I left. It seemed obvious that the dispensary was a hub for locals who all seemed like good friends with Hunziker — either that or my jaded decades of city life in Seattle has poisoned my outlook on retail interactions.
Joanne Blodgett (left) and Ora Rise at Walla Walla Cannabis Company.
Thursday morning was a blitz to Walla Walla where I visited three stores in one morning: Walla Walla Cannabis Company, Walla Walla Weedery and A Greener Today. Joanne Blodgett and Ora Rise at Walla Walla Cannabis Company were kind enough to show me around the store, letting me film, answering questions and posing for photos. The store is beautiful with wooden fixtures and a distinct, classic feel, like an old apothecary that I would only see in movies with Jimmy Stewart or Cary Grant. Next was A Greener Today, which is a massive store by any standard. Manager Darrell Dewald took me through the store’s multiple stations dedicated to each product segment. He was super cool, already knew the magazine and our Interchange events. The staff were all really nice but the store was only getting busier so I took my photos, thanked them for the support and headed out to my final location. Marsha Coronado and Heidi Waldron at Walla Walla Weedery are a top-tier charismatic duo. Within two minutes of arriving, I felt like I was a guest on a tenured sitcom, like post season five where they already know what works. We joked around and they posed for photos. I was completely disarmed and tempted to overstay my welcome, but the store needed to operate and with that I cashed out my Southeastern Washington cannabis tour.
A Greener Today manager Darrell Dewald.
Unfortunately, life got significantly worse for these operators after my visits due to the largest wildfires in recorded history hitting Eastern Washington. It’s actually been a month between me visiting the stores and writing this travel blog just because it felt too distant from what they are experiencing now. These are incredible, kind and wonderful people and I truly hope they and all my fellow Washingtonians east of the mountain pass are safe and are working together to bring some normalcy back to those impacted by the wildfires. I know they have the community thing down a lot better than we do on the west side. If you’d like to get involved please visit Afterthefirewa.org, for more information.
Thank you to everyone who took the time to indulge me, I wish you all the best.
Patrick Wagner, senior editor.