By Marc Donadieu
Glacier City Gazette
The Herbal Cache, whose interior is shown here, and Turnagain Herb Company hope to begin selling marijuana by the end of November.
With two retail marijuana shops in Girdwood looking to start selling product by the end of November, both businesses are eagerly preparing for the event. The Gazette interviewed Seth Molen, owner of Turnagain Herb Company, and Sue Carse, owner of The Herbal Cache to learn how their businesses are coming along. Both businesses will be giving an update at the Sept. 19 Girdwood Board of Supervisors meeting.
Molen has much work ahead of him. He is about to break ground to construct his retail shop on Crow Creek Road, and he is also preparing a growing facility in Anchorage.
“We plan on breaking ground very shortly,” Molen said. “We’re looking to push this out quickly as fast as we physically can. We’re going to roll out this building here in Girdwood first, and we’re working on the Anchorage facility as well.”
Molen hopes to open by the end November, if everything goes the right way with permits and inspections. He is waiting for licensing on the growing facility, so he will not have his own product available until after the retail store opens.
“With our first batch of product,” Molen said, “we’re going to have to purchase wholesale from a grower in the state. Shortly thereafter, we’ll be selling our own product.”
One of the goals of Turnagain Herb Company is to create an environment within the shop that is relaxing when a customer enters. He described what he envisions as his customer’s visit experience.
“We want it to be comfortable to whomever walks through the door,” Molen said, “whether you’re a medical patient or a recreational patient. They’re going to walk in and not feel pressured. They’ll be free to roam around our sales floor. It’s not going to feel like you’re in someone’s living room or salespeople walking right up on you. We want to take pressure out of the equation.”
Molen said one of the largest growing segments of cannabis consuming population is people that are 65 or older, and their product consumption is different. Because they might not smoke it or eat it, they use salves instead as a topical medication. He described the difference.
“It doesn’t give you the high or the mental, cerebral feeling. Instead it goes into a cannabinoid system within your body and helps with the inflammation and the pain on an isolated level.”
Molen was also candid about the process he has been through to get his new business along this far.
“The process is pretty arduous. There is so much minutia, so many details that have to be ironclad. It would be a lot easier if we just slid into a building and retrofit it. Instead, we’ve got to deal with special land use permits, building permits, you name it. It’s a lot more heavy lifting on our end with the new construction versus finding a place and moving in. It’s a very detailed puzzle.”
Unlike Molen, Carse has considerably less work ahead of her before she can sell product at The Herbal Cache. She is a recently retired Anchorage attorney who has been engaged with the process for two years by developing business plans, filling out applications, and getting permits. The business opened July 1, which helped in getting their system in place as well as sampling what people liked or wanted before being allowed to sell marijuana products.
The Herbal Cache received approval by the Marijuana Control Board on Sept. 8 and will have the Municipal application go before the Assembly Nov. 1. If the Assembly approves the license, Carse will make a request for a final inspection, which is supposed to be conducted within two weeks after the request. Licenses would be issued if the inspection is passed.
“We’re optimistically hoping to have product available by mid-November maybe, late November,” Carse said.“It has been challenging and a lot of work, but I feel like we’re moving along. It seems like we’re on schedule.”
Due to regulations, Laundromall building owner Danny Pfister has had to cover the site’s trash can with a three-sided fence to pass code inspection. According to Pfister, the only other businesses in Girdwood that have the fencing are Alyeska and Tesoro. Carse acknowledged the state regulations are easier to follow that the Municipality’s, but she was not complaining.
“I thought the state regulations were pretty straightforward,” Carse said. “We were deemed complete by the state August 3rd. The municipality has more requirements. I’m waiting for the fire chief to come. He has to give a letter of non-objection to this business and the type of business would give sufficient emergency access in the case of emergency. It has been more challenging with the municipality requirements, meeting code, doing the permitting, a change of use permit and a special use permit for marijuana.”
Carse has not encountered any objections to her new business, which marks a new chapter in her life after retiring as an attorney.
“I’ve enjoyed meeting different people,” she said. “Having commuted to Anchorage for 20 years, it has been nice meeting people in the community. We’ve gotten a lot of tourists, but that’s starting to slow down now. It has been fun talking to people about the industry.”