 |
| Blue Lobster Cannabis, 200 Roosevelt Trail in Casco, is led by, from left, owner Hayden Stokes, general manager Paul Lopiparo, and owner Zach Dolgos. It offers outstanding and affordable cannabis products and a different type of recreational cannabis experience for its customers ages 21 and over. SUBMITTED PHOTO |
“This is a store by locals, for locals,” said Blue Lobster co-owner Hayden Stokes. “Our goals are to provide our customers with quality cannabis products at the fairest price possible, and deliver personal service from a caring and experienced staff.”
“We accomplish this through several means, one being that we include the state’s 10 percent sales tax in our pricing already, which is different than the majority of rec stores. We also offer discounts to medical card holders, veterans and locals,” Stokes said.
Although Blue Lobster Cannabis has only been open since December 2023, Stokes and his business partner, Zach Dolgos, have several years of experience in the Maine cannabis industry. They have been growing medical cannabis since 2018 under The Happy Canary brand and are trying to bring a more medical-like pricing structure into the recreational cannabis market. Currently, their flower can only be found in other medical caregiver dispensaries that carry craft and organic products, and eventually they plan to switch some of their cultivation over to adult-use to be able to feature some of their own flower in Blue Lobster.
“We spend time building good relationships with quality Maine suppliers, so we are able to offer customers locally produced products at a very competitive price,” Stokes said. We are owner-operated, which is becoming much less common in this industry, and we are very passionate about the products we carry.”
According to Stokes, they don’t just sell these products, they also use them frequently and are confident in the quality of every product they carry for this reason.
“It may not seem like a big deal, but many shops are operated by people who do not use the product, and this can certainly create a divide between the business and its customers,” he said. “We are also very particular about the products we carry and the vendors we work with. We prefer smaller-scale craft producers and even a few organic ones which are few and far between in the local cannabis market. We follow organic growing methods ourselves with our medical Happy Canary brand. We are working with the town to eventually convert part of our cultivation over to adult-use so that we can carry some of our own products as well. We plan to always keep a wide variety of other growers in our store regardless.”
This summer, Blue Lobster Cannabis has been welcoming the local community through “Dank Fest” celebrations (“dank” is industry jargon for high quality cannabis). “We have held outdoor parties with free food trucks, barbeque, homemade ice cream and local music, and we ask our vendors to join us to meet our customers and celebrate warm weather in Casco,” said Dolgos. “It’s a great way for anyone who might be cannabis-curious to get to know us, meet our suppliers and get free fried dough.”
Visitors to Blue Lobster Cannabis will quickly notice its larger-than-usual selection and lower-than-usual prices.
“We have received a lot of feedback about these two aspects specifically,” Stokes said. “We also put a lot of effort and resources into our physical store, doing almost all of the work ourselves. People really appreciate the environment we have created in the store, from the look and smell of it, to the products on the shelves. We also have some incredible mural artwork by Mike Rich out of Portland that really helps to draw in customers. The quality products, personal friendly service, and pricing keep them coming back.”
Online and social media reviews for Blue Lobster Cannabis are nothing short of exceptional.
“The best deals and best quality in the area! The staff is amazing! My favorite shop!” Rachel G.
“Great place - the staff is wonderful and very knowledgeable.” Julie P.
“What an incredible place and staff. Staff was incredibly helpful in helping me choose the proper flower for what I was looking for.” George M.
To learn more about Blue Lobster Cannabis, visit https://www.bluelobstercannabis.com/ or call 207-655-6001. Find them on Facebook under Blue Lobster Cannabis. <
No comments:
Post a Comment