Fire & Flower plans to have their cannabis store in south Red Deer open next month. (rdnewsNOW/Troy Gillard)

By Troy Gillard

new licence granted

Third pot shop coming to Red Deer

Apr 24, 2019 | 10:59 AM

Red Deerians will soon have another place to buy recreational pot.

Fire & Flower has been granted two of the 26 new retail cannabis licences being issued Alberta Gaming Liquor and Cannabis (AGLC), including one for Red Deer.

It’s the first time the AGLC has issued new licences since January due to a national cannabis supply shortage.

In a letter to current and prospective cannabis retailers, AGLC COO Niaz Nejad and Vice President Dave Berry thank owners for their patience during the shortage.

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“Since issuing 10 additional retail licences in January of this year we have seen a modest increase in cannabis inventory available to retailers. The increase has been enough for us to issue 26 additional retail licences,” the letter reads.

“While AGLC’s inventory levels have seen improvement, it is not stable enough to fully open the licensing process or accept new retail cannabis applications. AGLC continues to scour the country looking for additional product; currently we have contracts with 23 licensed producers and are in conversation with many more.”

Fire & Flower CEO Trevor Fencott says they are pleased with the AGLC’s decision to grant them two more licences.

“We appreciate the support we have received from the Clareview and Red Deer communities as these stores have awaited final licensing, and look forward to being able serve both our loyal customers and new guests with a curated assortment of cannabis and accessories,” Fencott says in a statement.

The other newly-approved Fire & Flower location is in Edmonton. The company already operates a cannabis store in Stettler.

Nathan Mison with Fire & Flower says they are in the process of hiring a General Manager and Asst. General Manager for their Red Deer store (3119 49 Ave.) and hope to open early next month.

Green Town, Red Deer’s first recreational cannabis store, opened last November followed by Clarity Cannabis in January.

(With file from Jessie Weisner, CHAT News Today)