Haight Ashbury, a new cannabis dispensary is coming to downtown Wallaceburg

A new legal cannabis dispensary is coming to downtown Wallaceburg.

Haight Ashbury is set to be located at 302 James Street and the owners are eyeing a November opening.

Aaron Reimneitz, a Windsor resident and one of the co-owners for the new business, told the Sydenham Current when scouting for locations to open their first shop, he essentially came to Wallaceburg by chance.

“I was driving through, basically Southwestern Ontario, from Windsor,” he said.

“I was driving up one day and went from Chatham to Sarnia and basically stumbled upon it. It was my first time here and I fell in love with it. The water, James Street is super nice. There isn’t (a dispensary) here. Everyone is super friendly here, very nice people. Everyone is super cool, super polite. Everyone says ‘hello’.”

Mario D’Alimonte, also a Windsor resident and co-owner, echoed Reimneitz’ comments about the town.

“I’ve always liked Wallaceburg, it’s surrounded by water,” D’Alimonte said.

Reimneitz added their store will have a variety of cannabis products for sale, including: edibles, drinkables, topicals, CBD and bud.

“We’re basically just waiting on our retail store authorization, which is granted by the (Alcohol and Gaming Commission of Ontario),” Reimneitz said, adding that this final master license will allow them to open 10 to 19 shops.

D’Alimonte said they are “shooting for 10” locations to open, with Wallaceburg being their first.

The business will be a high end, professional and quality shop, D’Alimonte added.

“We don’t want to put a dump in the middle of the town,” he said.

“We’re probably going to put about $115,000 into the building, not including products and everything else.”

D’Alimonte said renovations to the downtown location, which was formerly the location of RBC Dominion Services, are underway.

He said the shop will be wheelchair accessible once complete.

The name of the business, Haight Ashbury, is inspired by the famous intersection in San Francisco, California, which is a district noted for its role as a center of the 1960s hippie movement.

“That’s where the whole thing began,” D’Alimonte said, adding that all of their future locations will carry the same Haight Ashbury name and branding.

“We’ll have clothing, merchandise, everything.”

Reimneitz said they will be hiring about 12 employees, including two managers, prior to their tentative November opening.

“We want to hire locally,” he said.

D’Alimonte added their staff will be required to take and pass some online courses, similar to the Province’s Smart Serve program.

“We want them educated, that’s why we want them taking all of the programs,” he said.

Watch for more details in the weekly Sydenham Current jobs posting about the opportunities available at Haight Ashbury.

“We want it to be fun… cool for the town,” D’Alimonte said.

“We’re really excited to open up and be here… be a part of the community,” Reimneitz added.

Reimneitz and D’Alimonte said more details will be announced to the community as they get closer to their opening date.

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