O’LEARY, P.E.I. – As Zach Currie was launching Wednesday into a media tour of the P.E.I. Cannabis Corporation’s newest store in O’Leary, a potential customer walked through the front doors.
He had seen the vehicles parked out front and thought the building had opened for business.
The customer was advised he arrived two days early and that the store opens for business Friday, Jan. 25 at 9 a.m.
That opening is nearly three and a half months after the other three corporate stores in the province and the online sales portal started up on Oct. 17, 2018.
Unlike the other corporate locations, the O’Leary store is in a brand-new, leased building. The building’s owner, the Town of O’Leary, encountered a series of construction delays that put the project’s completion behind schedule.
But it’s ready now and Currie, director of cannabis operations, said the layout of the new store is very similar to the others, and especially similar to the store in Montague.
Everyone must enter through a main reception area from where entry to the store itself is strictly controlled. Anyone who looks under the age of 30 must present a photo identification.
O’Leary cannabis store hours:
- Monday to Thursday, 9 a.m. to 6 p.m.
- Friday, 9 a.m. to 9 p.m.
- Saturday 9 a.m. to 10 p.m.
- Sunday, 12 noon to 5 p.m.
O’Leary Mayor Eric Gavin participated in the tour, his first look at the completed building. He said he might be back on Friday to see the store in operation.
While he'll "never say never,” Gavin said he is not expecting to be in line to make a purchase. Not just yet, anyway.
Currie anticipates there will be a curiosity factor associated with Friday’s opening, though he is not expecting it to create as much hype as the Oct. 17 corporate openings, the day cannabis sales in Canada were officially legalized.
The store has a staff of six full-time and two part-time workers, all of whom have been helping out at the Summerside location while awaiting the opening of the O’Leary store.
Currie said sales in Summerside have been stronger than projected, and he suggested some of that business was likely the result of people who otherwise would have been customers in O’Leary having travelled to Summerside to get their product.
“In terms of the operational model and the staffing resources we have to suit that, it hasn’t deviated one bit since October,” Currie said.
There have been some additional casual workers to help with the corporate staffing compliment throughout the province, he said.
The O’Leary building is about 1,500 square feet, with the retail area taking up just over half of that. An entry vestibule, reception area and, in back, an office and large fortified pharmaceutical cage, take up the remainder of the space.
Length of visits vary by customer, with some proceeding directly to the point-of-sale counter and others who make it more of an exploratory, self-directed experience, viewing the information available on large screens and on tablets or examining product samples.
There is no customer handling of product until after a sale is completed, but there are display jars through which customers can view or sniff samples.
Layouts and displays are comparable in all locations, Currie noted.
“From a brand consistency perspective, that was very crucial to us, but also because we noted and were very comfortable when we designed the stores, that they were going to work well logistically and from a functional standpoint, would really suit customer flow very well.
“It’s been successful and there was no reason for us to change.”
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