La Ronge Cannabis is located downtown along La Ronge Avenue. (Derek Cornet/larongeNOW Staff)

By Derek Cornet

marijuana

Second pot shop opens in La Ronge

Jan 4, 2023 | 4:18 PM

A new pot shop is open for business in La Ronge.

La Ronge Cannabis opened in the community just before Christmas and owner Paras Patel explained the store is currently in a soft launch period. As the weeks go by, he noted customers can expect more products to become available and more merchandise on the shelves.

“We wanted to be open before Christmas for the reason people know we are here,” he said. “Especially in a small community when people are used to going to one store, it’s very hard to bring the people in.”

Patel first approached town council in February seeking approval to open his store. In June, council approved a discretionary use permit despite objections from councillors Matt Klassen and Viviana Ruiz-Arcand who disapproved of it.

Patel mentioned he would have liked to have opened the shop by the end of September, but approval through the municipality and Saskatchewan Gaming and Liquor Authority was a lengthy process.

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“It’s almost seven, eight months,” he said. “Two or three weeks we lost with just waiting for the engineer to come and check the space for what we have done is according to the rules and regulations.”

The store, which is located in a newly renovated space in the same building as Marker 47 Café, is opened from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. Patel noted he is accepting applications, adding staff will gradually be hired as sales pick up.

Patel also wanted residents to know he supports small communities, and he hopes to have an impact in La Ronge. He owns other pot shops in Nipawin, Rosthern and Shellbrook, which have been involved in fundraising efforts for a play structure in Valley Regional Park, as well as the Valley Hospital Foundation.

“I’m hoping people like us and they will support us and we always support the community,” Patel said. “That’s how we go in the small communities and that’s what we like about the small communities.”

La Ronge Cannabis is the second pot shop to open in town. The other location is called 5Buds, which took over Kiaro in 2021.

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derek.cornet@pattisonmedia.com

Twitter: @saskjourno