News

Spiritleaf gets Okanagan bingo

Published on April 16, 2020 by Jenny Neufeld

Spiritleaf is not slowing down despite the current state of the world. 

Another store in the Okanagan has been approved for the franchise, this time in Kelowna at the corner of Hwy 97 and Burtch Avenue (conveniently located next to a Dominos). This means they have a string of stores throughout the entire valley, from Vernon to Penticton with locations in Kelowna and West Kelowna in between. The new store should be open some time in May 2020.

Darren Bondar, President and CEO of Spiritleaf, represented Canada as part of an expert panel about the effects of COVID-19 on the cannabis industry last week. He said that the franchise model is serving his company well through this crisis as each store owner is able to adapt to the specific needs of their customer base with little change to store operating hours. In fact he says, Spiritleaf is on track to have 80 stores open by the end of the year, up from it’s current count of 46.

Not to say that changes haven’t been made in Spiritleaf stores as a response to COVID-19. These include installing plexiglass sneeze guards for the protections of staff and patrons, increased sanitization and cleaning, removal of any paper menus and encouraged use of their Select & Collect service. The service allows you to view an up to date menu of what’s available in store and reserve your order to be packaged and picked up.

Bondar also said that in most ways it is still business as usual and business is good. He, and many others, have a positive outlook for the cannabis industry as we move forward in this strange new world.

Edited on April 17 to change opening to May.