The Hunny Pot
The evolution of cannabis dispensaries from hard to find, unsophisticated retail environments to carefully orchestrated brand experiences will only accelerate as demand and competition increases in this growing retail segment and cannabis retail store design is a critical component of the equation.
CORE has guided numerous clients through this process including Indiva and The Hunny Pot Cannabis Company which recently open Toronto’s first legal dispensary on trendy Queen Street West.
At Hunny Pot, CORE was faced with an expedited time-frame to deliver a store design concept over 4 retail levels. The team worked closely with the Client and their consultants to execute a fully designed store to mark the opening of the first licensed Cannabis retail store in Toronto.
Located in the trendy Queen West downtown neighbourhood, the multi-level retail space was designed to embrace the open central atrium and skylight and designate each level specifically for shopping zones. The simple, clean and modern store design makes use of the hexagon shape to pay homage to the owner’s namesake/store name and ‘Hunny’ theme.
Upon entering the space, guests are greeted into a reception area with a large moss green wall, gold reception desk and 11-foot high double-perforated black metal screens that create larger honeycomb shapes when only viewed at certain angles. A series of black and white painted rift-cut oak hexagon-shaped tables undulate on the upper levels as an interactive bud bar; some with glass showcase displays to highlight key products.
The theme is also carried through the store with a sequence of gold metal vertical strips mounted on the wall mimicking drips of honey located next to the lower cash area. Additional elements of greenery are layered through-out each level with cascading vines; and the colour and material palette of glass, black and gold metal mixed with white and black wood were utilized to complement the existing interior finishes and space.
With the excitement surrounding licensing retail stores to open in Ontario, the rules and regulations limited realistic schedules for new retailers to conceptualize a Brand and open a brick and mortar shop in time for the deadline.
The challenge of a short time frame provided a lot of pressure to find a location, prepare a concept design simultaneously with the Branding development and production of the fixtures in the span of fewer than 8 weeks. The investment the client put forth was heavily geared toward creating a comfortable, inviting and beautiful space that would change the stigma of the cannabis industry and educate new users and help facilitate it into becoming more mainstream.
The vision and main focus were to create an environment that would resonate with and all w for repeat customers to choose their retail store over the other competitors that were also saturating the market. CORE needed to meet the daunting task of achieving the client’s goal to open on the deadline date so that they could make a historic footprint in the industry and set themselves apart.
Images courtesy of Hunny Pot Cannabis Company
