When she moved to Melita, she eventually found someone who would be a partner. Ryan Lawrence was getting his paperwork ready to have a cannabis shop in town around the same time, but Smith had a jump on him. He felt trying to have two was not going to work, so he backed off. In a short while, he contacted Smith about working together, and he began at the Melita shop, learning the business. Smith said the possibility of partnering at a store in Reston came up, but she felt it was too small. Boissevain came up as an alternative. For Lawrence, it was natural, as he has roots in the area. Peter Dyck, a cattleman from Boissevain, was his grandfather. He explained the reasons for picking the community.
“It was the last big town in this area of Manitoba without a shop,” Lawrence explained. “My family comes from Boissevain, and that is part of the reason I liked Boissevain for it.”
“We started to look around and Boissevain was a good spot and I said ‘sure’,” Smith added.
Lawrence spent most of his adult career fixing crop sprayers, and then moved to another grandfather’s farm. He has been learning the business in Melita and will be managing the shop in Boissevain, with Smith saying she does not have time to be running three shops but will work on the financials. She is retaining ownership of Carnduff and Melita, while the Boissevain store will be a partnership.
The plan is for Border Town Buds to occupy a space of about 650 sq. ft. in the Red Square building. Lawrence said having driven through Boissevain hundreds of times, he liked the fact it was right on #10 Highway.
“Some people might be headed to Brandon and go straight through if we were inside town,” he explained. “You want to be right there, where everyone can see you.”
“It’s a great spot,” Smith stated. “It’s right behind the Co-op. It should work well.”
Lawrence added the ownership of the building have been great to work with and are presently putting the finishing touches on the space where the shop will be.
Smith said the name was a perfect one for their store. It keeps with their “buds” brand while using the “border town” motif.
Lawrence said they are looking to have between two and four employees in Boissevain, depending on who applies and what hours they want to work.
Products will be similar to the other “bud” shops, with cannabis flower, pre-roll, edibles, drinks and vapes. Lawrence added there would be some accessories like pipes available, and Smith said they would have to feel out the market a bit, as each town is a little different.
She said the store in Carnduff has done very well. In Melita, it has grown, but a little slower. Much of the difference is due to the ordering process. In Saskatchewan, they can order direct from the supplier, where in Manitoba, it has to go through the government, which inevitably leads to delays.
Although cannabis shops can be controversial, both Lawrence and Smith say there is a definite advantage to supplying a market this way. There is a safety in having the cannabis come from a reliable and regulated source.
“I’m not a big user, but I support the users,” Lawrence explained. “They either get it from me or from the back alley.”
“There are a lot of back alley deals,” Smith continued, “and we want to nip that in the bud. This way, you know what you are getting.”
They have been working on the Boissevain project for much of 2022, and Smith said they are about six weeks to two months from opening.
She said Boissevain is a bigger community than both Carnduff or Melita, which bodes well for business. Lawrence feels the Boissevain location will be able to draw from areas like Lake Metigoshe and all the way up to Souris. They both hope they can establish a serve the market well in the area.
“We obviously want to be profitable, to be a drawing card,” Smith stated.
“We want to bring safe product to the area,” Smith said. “We want it to sustain itself and keep everything safe.”
by PAUL RAYNER, Recorder staff