Former Highland Dispensary is Now Emerald Fields

Urban Dispensary, a longtime pot shop at 2675 West 38th Avenue, has been transformed into an Emerald Fields outpost.

Schwazze, a publicly traded marijuana ownership company in Denver, officially took control of Urban Dispensary's cultivation and marijuana sales licenses earlier this week, according to Chief Operating Officer Nirup Krishnamurthy. A grand reopening is planned for Saturday, June 4, with more renovations to follow.

Schwazze had previously purchased the Emerald Fields stores in Glendale and Manitou Springs in late 2021. The $3.2 million acquisition deal of Urban Dispensary was announced in March, but still had to be approved by state regulators. Now that the sale is complete, the full transformation of the new store should be completed within three or four months, Krishnamurthy explains.

Schwazze also owns Star Buds dispensaries in Colorado, and the company recently agreed to buy the Drift and Smokin Gun Apothecary stores. As a result, Schwazze currently owns 23 dispensaries across the state, as well as a handful of stores in New Mexico; most of them are Star Buds outposts.

In fact, there is a Star Buds store just over two miles west of the latest acquisition, but Schwazze says that the newest store's location in Highland calls for a different feel. This Emerald Fields outlet will be a boutique network designed for newer marijuana users, according to Krishnamurthy.

"Every time we make an acquisition, we look at the demographics in the area, our existing footprint, and decide which banner we want to go with at that location," he says. "This one will be our boutique for canna-curious customers who want to have a different shopping experience."

That experience will include an open-floor layout that allows customers to visit with retail employees as they check out products, instead of the more traditional dispensary model that keeps all stock behind a counter. Krishnamurthy expects more experienced customers to go to the nearby Star Buds, which he calls the mainstream chain of Schwazze's portfolio. Loyalty points from purchases at either brand will be accepted at all Schwazze locations, Krishnamurthy notes.

The new Emerald Fields opens amid a decline in Colorado marijuana prices and sales volume, but Schwazze is confident that the Highland location will benefit the new store, and the company continues to look for acquisition opportunities.

"We believe in our playbook," Krishnamurthy says. "We're very confident as we take on acquisitions, and we start with where they are. When we execute our playbook, we see improvement very quickly at these locations."

The marijuana industry is dense in Denver, with few storefront acquisition opportunities — but there soon could be openings in Colorado Springs. While recreational marijuana sales remain banned in that city, it's home to over 100 medical marijuana dispensaries, and activists are hopeful that their recreational marijuana sales initiative will be approved by voters in the November election.

Schwazze is actively monitoring the action in Colorado Springs and considering expansion strategies in that market, according to Krishnamurthy.

"When the right opportunity comes along, we will work on it. Our goal is to be a premier player in the Colorado market," he says.