GRAND JUNCTION, Colo. (KKCO) – Six months after the City of Grand Junction held a lottery to determine which businesses would be granted cannabis licenses, the first business opened its doors.
Lucky Me Dispensary, located at 7th Street and Patterson Road was one of the 10 businesses that were chosen through the lottery of more than 30 applicants.
“It was definitely nerve-wracking,” said Lucky Me’s manager, Nicolas Pinto. “But, you know, we’re just happy to be here and happy to get a spot in the lottery one of ten, and especially be the first one to open.”
Pinto said Lucky Me Dispensary almost wasn’t drawn, as they were the second to last chosen. Other businesses chosen were:
Lucky Me Dispensary first opened its doors Tuesday, Oct. 10. Right now, Pinto said it’s in its soft opening stage—a time, where they can gather customer input and reviews, to see what customers like.
“We’ve had a lot of positive reviews, some negative reviews, which we’re working on,” said Pinto. “That’s part of a soft opening is figuring out what they want, what people would like to see different.”
The state of Colorado legalized marijuana more than 10 years ago. But it was only recently that the City of Grand Junction approved a sales tax for marijuana sales. According to Pinto, Lucky Me had its state license well before its city license.
“The state approved us but then there were still things we needed to figure out with the city before they gave us the city license.”
As a condition for getting and keeping a license, each of the selected ten businesses had to open their doors within a year of getting a license, or they would have to give their licenses back to the city.
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