Urban Dispensary, a longtime pottery store at 2675 West 38th Avenue, has been transformed into a emerald fields outpost.
Swiss, a publicly traded marijuana possession company in Denver, officially took control of Urban Dispensary’s marijuana cultivation and sales licenses earlier this week, according to chief operating officer Nirup Krishnamurthy. A grand reopening is scheduled for Saturday, June 4, with more renovations to follow.
Schwazze previously bought Emerald Fields stores in Glendale and Manitou Springs in late 2021. The $3.2 million acquisition deal from Urban Dispensary was announced in March but still needed approval from regulators. State. Now that the sale is complete, the full makeover of the new store should be complete within three to four months, says Krishnamurthy.
Schwazze also owns Star Buds Dispensaries in Colorado, and the company recently agreed to buy Drift and Smokin Gun Apothecary stores. As a result, Schwazze currently has 23 dispensaries across the state as well as a handful of stores in New Mexico; most of them are Star Buds outposts.
In fact, there’s a Star Buds store just over two miles west of the latest acquisition, but Schwazze says the new store’s location in the Highlands calls for a different feel. This Emerald Fields outlet will be a network of shops designed for new marijuana users, according to Krishnamurthy.
“Every time we make an acquisition, we look at the demographics of the area, our existing footprint, and decide which banner we want to go with that location,” he says. “This will be our store for curious canna customers who want a different shopping experience.”
This experience will include an open-floor layout that allows customers to visit retail employees when checking out products, instead of the more traditional dispensary model that keeps all stock behind a counter. Krishnamurthy expects more seasoned customers to head to nearby Star Buds, which he calls the main chain in Schwazze’s portfolio. Loyalty points from purchases from either brand will be accepted at all Schwazze stores, notes Krishnamurthy.
New Emerald Fields opens amid falling Colorado marijuana prices and sales volume, but Schwazze is confident the Highlands location will benefit the new store, and the company continues to seek acquisition opportunities .
“We believe in our playbook,” says Krishnamurthy. “We’re very confident when we take acquisitions, and we start where they are. When we run our playbook, we see very rapid improvement in those places.”
The marijuana industry is dense in Denver, with few storefront opportunities — but there may soon be openings in Colorado Springs. Although recreational marijuana sales remain banned in this city, it is home to more than 100 medical marijuana dispensaries, and activists hope their recreational marijuana sales initiative will be endorsed by voters in the November elections.
Schwazze is actively watching the action in Colorado Springs and considering strategies for expanding there, according to Krishnamurthy.
“When the right opportunity arises, we’ll work on it. Our goal is to be a top player in the Colorado market,” he said.
