Guelph can be considered one of Ontario’s most green cities in more ways than one.
Home to a surprising number of legal cannabis retail stores, that number is expected to grow as more of the retail stores are slated to open.
Currently, within Guelph, there are 25 cannabis retail stores authorized to open, in the progress of opening, or under public notice.
As of today, 12 stores are authorized to open and sell cannabis products, 12 stores are in the process of opening and one store is in the public notice stage.
According to the Alcohol and Gambling Commission of Ontario, which is responsible for regulating Ontario's cannabis retail stores under the Cannabis Licence Act, seven of these stores are or will be within the downtown core.
Five of these stores are situated along Wyndham Street North with two more stores around the corner on Macdonell Street.
Of the seven stores situated downtown, three are currently authorized to open and sell cannabis products.
“Anything that’s legally allowed to be in a space is something that we support,” said Marty Williams, executive director of the Downtown Guelph Business Association.
Williams said that he was shocked there could be possibly 25 stores in Guelph, but the ones that are currently open downtown have attractive storefronts.
“I hope it brings visitors to the downtown who might buy some cannabis and then go buy some shoes,” said Williams. “Anything that brings people downtown, and it is certainly is better than a vacancy.”
A public notice for Bud's Cannabis Store ends on Thursday.
In July, a statistic from the Ontario Cannabis Store (OCS) showed nearly $4.5 million worth of recreational marijuana products were sold in Guelph during the first three months of 2021.
Those sales put Guelph in 14th place among Ontario municipalities, 39th for per capita sales out of 160 cities.
The first cannabis store to open in Guelph was Spiritleaf, which opened its doors on June 16, 2020.
