Images: @Phlora.co
This month, The MM Report Magazine had the pleasure of interviewing TJ, the owner of Wayne County’s first recreational provisioning center. From the moment you first step foot into their building you notice the modern minimalistic, yet rustic style is very prominent and gives you a feeling of comfort and awe that sticks with you through your entire experience at their store.
How long has your store been open?
Herbology has been open since April of 2019, and we went recreational February 1, 2020.
What made you want to have your store sell recreationally and not just medicinal?
Besides the fact it’s good for business, a lot of people don’t want to get their medical cards because of their jobs, or they are worried that having their card will have them tracked by the government. You’ll be surprised how many people think they’ll be put on a list that is going to be spread everywhere and it’s going to limit their life professionally and personally. So being recreational really opens up the market to everyone. It’s just been great and its been great fun!
What sets your store apart from others?
With Herbology, coming in with already having experience from Herbal Healing (another licensed provisioning center in the area owned by TJ that is set to go recreational as well) I wanted to do something a little bit different. I wanted to not just be another new store that sells cannabis, I wanted to create an experience. As you see from our shop, when you first walk in from the overall design to the check-in, to all the care that the budtenders put in is all experience based. Obviously, we want to carry the best product and the best everything, but we also want to give them one hell of an experience, that’s what sets us apart. Our overall aesthetics and the vibe and feel you get coming with the best product lines. I hired an interior designer firm to really pull everything together, just driving by you see its open and not your typical store that’s all bricked up, which I think creates a more welcoming environment for med and rec, patients and customers, for those who are cannabis curious and get nervous just by seeing an all brick building or places completely covered up by decals. Its not a scary place here.
How do your budtenders consult first time users into what they should try?
This has been happening a lot since we’ve opened recreationally, they come in and they know cannabis and have only experienced flower, they’ve never had edibles, they’ve never had concentrates. So, the first thing we do is what they’ve tried, what they like, and what they’re open to try…which is usually everything! So, we literally walk them from showcase to showcase, from the concentrates section to the edibles section, then to the flower section and break down everything for them and give them all the knowledge we can.
Do you think your shop has made an impact on the community?
100%. And not just my stores but all the stores in the city of River Rouge. The stores generate a lot of additional traffic for the city, and that same traffic is stopping at the gas stations, they’re stopping at the restaurants, getting coffee and donuts and really getting to know our area when normally they wouldn’t. I definitely think we’re having a big impact.
What have been some of the challenges you’ve faced with opening recreationally?
Product supply. That was an issue in the beginning, but since then we’ve been able to maintain at least 10 different strains on the rec side.
Does Herbology have any plans in the upcoming future?
In the next few weeks we are launching our online ordering and home delivery! You can go to our website shophcc.com, place an online order and it will ask you for home delivery or in-store pickup. For pick-up, you just come into the store and the bag is ready, you cash-out and leave. It’s an express checkout as well where the in-store pickup trumps the rec line. As for the home delivery, we are doing a 20-mile radius from our store with specific slotted times we are available for delivery. AND more stores coming!
Any advice for anyone trying to open a recreational provisioning center?
This goes for not just recreational, but any provisioning center in general. Have a LOT of capital. Plain and simple.
