Although spring is when the desert is known to bloom, Tucson will be sporting a different kind of greenery this fall.
Sol Flower, the dispensary arm of Phoenix-based cannabis company Copperstate Farms, opened its fourth Tucson location Friday, at 6437 N. Oracle Road.
“The feedback we’ve gotten from the community and from just the patrons has been phenomenal,” said Dan Hayden, director of retail operations at Sol Flower.
The Tucson locations, which have all opened within the last month, include:
Sol Flower Foothills, 6026 N. Oracle Road.
Sol Flower South Tucson, 3000 W. Valencia Road, Suite 210.
Sol Flower North Tucson, 4837 N. First Avenue.
Joining them this weekend is Sol Flower Casas Adobes, the store at 6437 N. Oracle.
The company, with five established retail locations in metro Phoenix, strategically sought the four Tucson sites, especially the brand’s south-side store, to help bring cannabis to underserved areas, Hayden said.
The four shops also give Sol Flower a larger retail footprint in the Tucson region than any other current cannabis company.
Those include multi-state operators Curaleaf and Trulieve, which both operate shops in the Tucson area, and local brands such as Earth’s Healing and Prime Leaf.
A customer receives some help at Sol Flower Dispensary at 3000 W. Valencia.
“It is about 20 minutes to the next closest dispensary,” from Sol Flower South, Hayden said. “So I don’t know if you would compare it to like a food desert, but it was almost like a cannabis desert.”
The openings have been welcomed by customers like Gilbert Herrera.
A resident of Tucson’s far southwest side, Herrera said before Sol Flower South Tucson opened, he would often drive 30 to 40 minutes to the next closest dispensary in Tucson or down in Green Valley.
Now? His medicine is much easier to pick up.
“I live on this side of town,” he said. “It’s more convenient, less traffic, and I’m in and out of this store because it’s very fast.”
Sol Flower’s expansion into Tucson shows its commitment to communities, said Allie Marconi, senior director of marketing for Copperstate Farms.
“We’ve already begun reaching out to business, community and nonprofit leaders in Tucson, and look forward to building new connections and becoming a part of the Tucson community.”
And according to Hayden, Sol Flower isn’t done.
“I actually just got done looking at a property,” he said. “Not sure I can say where yet.”
Sol Flower’s brands and Phoenix metro area locations have established a strong presence within the state, due in part to being bolstered by Arizona’s largest cannabis growing operation, a 40-acre greenhouse with more than 1 million square feet of useable space, located outside of Snowflake.
That helps the company produce cannabis flower for its brands and keep prices low, according to Hayden.
“We’re able to provide super-quality product for a great price to every community,” he said. “Probably 70 or 80% of the products that go through our stores are supported by our farm.”
At Sol Flower South Tucson, General Manager Cassidy Barranco, who moved to Tucson to manage the store, is optimistic about chances for success.
On top of her location being in one of Hayden’s so-called “cannabis deserts” and being able to serve customers like Herrera, she said Sol Flower treats its employees right, which makes treating customers like friends second nature.
“Our reviews speak for themselves,” she said. “We have great customer service. Everybody’s happy here, and you’re going to leave with a smile.”
Each Sol Flower dispensary in Tucson is open seven days a week, from 8 a.m. to 9 p.m. Orders can be made in store or online at www.livewithsol.com.
