Saskabuds Cannabis is located on Burrows Ave. W. in the old Dataport Computer Solutions building. (Mat Barrett/northeastNOW Staff)

By Mat Barrett

Saskabuds Cannabis

Licensee of Melfort cannabis shop hope to open ‘within a month’

Mar 2, 2020 | 5:00 PM

Melfort’s cannabis shop should be opening in the very near future according to the licensee.

Corey Bacon said he hopes to open Saskabuds Cannabis “within a month.”

Previously, the first licensee for the shop in Melfort had his license rejected. That meant another lottery was needed from the Saskatchewan Liquor and Gaming Authority for the next licensee. Bacon came out on top for that one and decided to try and lease the same location. He said it was a bit of a difficult process as he tried to first sub-lease from the previous tenant, but after an agreement couldn’t be reached, the landlord took over and was able to lease to Bacon. However, that wasn’t the end of it.

“Unknown to us, there was some code violations, and some other issues regarding SLGA regulations that we had to deal with and get corrected,” Bacon said. “So that set us back about a month.”

Bacon added at first thought, going to the same location on Burrows Ave. W. as the previous licensee was a good idea, until all of the issues arised.

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“Probably in the end, if we had gone with a different space, we may have been up and running already,” he said. “But I’m happy with the location here right now and just excited to be a part of the community.”

Another big issue Bacon had when it came to renovations in the store were some cabinets installed by the previous licensee that were later taken out. He said installing new cabinets set back their opening date.

Bacon said he doesn’t expect more delays. He said once product comes in, they’ll have another SLGA inspection to make sure everything is up to par including security, and staff training. Bacon said he still has one more staff member to hire.

“The only thing that’s going to delay us now is product shipment from the licensed producers,” Bacon said. “They don’t necessarily ship out every week, or every two weeks. Sometimes it’s every month.”

He said there’s already been a bit of delay with product shipment due to some world events such as the coronavirus.

Throughout the process, Bacon said he’s learned a lot. He plans to sell his Kinisitino-based business soon.

“I’ve never been a user of cannabis up until last June when I started taking medical CBD for a back injury I sustained a number of years ago,” Bacon told northeastNOW. “It was my first experience, so obviously opening a business that’s strictly cannabis, I had a lot to learn, and I’ve learned a ton and excited to learn a lot more and share that knowledge with others.”

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mat.barrett@jpbg.ca

On Twitter: @matbarrett6