It's been a year and a half since the city of Traverse City granted 16 recreational marijuana licenses after a lengthy process. Eighteen months later, the number of pot shops in Traverse City is already dwindling, with two dispensaries closing, two not opening and two more going up for sale. How many stores will remain when the situation settles down?
Traverse City currently has 12 active licenses, said Benjamin Marentette, the city clerk who manages the city's marijuana retail licenses. These are from Verts on South Union Street. Lume on West Front Street. Green Farm in Parsons. The Division's Stash House. Gage on Hanna Street. Puff and Lighthouse, both in Garfield. Dunglass and Orswell, both on East Front Street. Cloud, Highly Kanako, and House of Dunk are all located on Munson Avenue. Marentet said an “active license” in this context means “the entity is operating with its doors open.”
Another license from Traverse City's original 16 licenses is technically still under consideration and could be activated in the future if the owner desires. Marentette said 314 Munson Ave., a property that was licensed during Traverse City's first medical marijuana lottery drawing, has never opened and “has not yet applied for a state permit.” “I haven't done it yet.” Despite the space's dormancy, the owners went through the recreational cannabis application process last year and upgraded their license. But the 426-square-foot property is on the market for $725,000, and listing agent Blake Bernard of Real Estate One said the listing is “real estate only” and the license is He said it was not included. If the building changes hands, Marentet said, “the license will cease to exist.”
Similarly, three of Traverse City's other recreational licenses have expired and cannot be renewed. One of the permits was granted to Traverse City Cannabis Company, which was planning to operate an adult-use dispensary at 934 Hastings Street. The business never opened, and Marentette told The Ticker that the applicant let the license expire when it came time to renew.
Two other pot shops have also closed, both of which were part of Traverse City's original medical specialty pharmacy. The first Skymint store on East Front Street was part of a major statewide brand facing significant financial challenges. The second is Nirvana Center, a pharmacy that was previously located next to Rare Bird Brewpub on Lake Avenue.
Unlike liquor licenses, which can be purchased or transferred after a restaurant or bar closes, Skymint and Nirvana Center's licenses are gone forever, Marentet said.
“If a dispensary closes, the license is lost and unavailable,” Marentet said. He clarifies that pharmacies can indeed sell with a license. However, “for a company to sell a license, it must remain in business until the license is sold.”
At least two Traverse City pharmacies appear to have such a plan. Alswell and Gage are on the market with licenses, the former for $1.2 million and the latter for $2.55 million. Both stores will continue to operate while looking for buyers.
Sales, closures and other market upheavals are not unexpected developments in Traverse City's marijuana landscape. Speaking to Ticker last October, Puff, Lume and Cloud leaders all predicted that more than a quarter of the city's pharmacies would eventually close. .
Nick and Eric Piedmont, local brothers who own and operate eight dispensaries in Dunglass and northern Michigan, expect Traverse City's population decline to continue for several years due to market headwinds.
“I continue to think they went too far,” Nick said of the city's decision to allow up to 24 adult-use licenses within Traverse City's 8.6 square miles. “Six was the correct number.”
Of the 12 remaining pharmacies in Traverse City, Dunglass is unique in that it is owned and operated by Traverse City residents. Most of the local shops are part of the big brands based downstate. In the early days, the lack of greater backing was the anchor. Piedmont is on record as being on the sidelines when medical marijuana first came to Traverse City in 2019 because some of its competitors didn't have deep pockets. But the brothers say being smaller and more agile is an advantage.
“We weren't really interested in getting into cultivation or processing. In the early stages, it seemed like a mistake,” says Nick. “But six years later, we continue to feel it was the right decision.”
Eric explains that many cannabis brands across the state are “vertically integrated,” meaning they plant, grow, process and sell their own products. The problem, he says, is that many of those companies overexpanded by building expensive cultivation operations or opening dozens of locations across the state. One example is Skymint, which had 24 stores in Michigan before being put into receivership due to $127 million worth of debt. Crain's Detroit says prices plummeted 14.5 percent to an all-time low in 2024, as marijuana prices in Michigan soared due to a large surplus of the product. Eric says not having a cultivation operation actually benefits Michigan's cannabis retailers.
“Just because we produce it doesn't mean we're forced to put something on store shelves,” Eric explains. “Instead, we have established partnerships with other suppliers and have geographic exclusivity with what we believe to be three of the five best flower producers in Michigan. You'll get truly high-end products that you can't find in retail stores, and you'll be able to avoid price compression. Additionally, many pharmacies will have a large inventory of your products. Our structure allows us to always have fresh, recently grown products on our shelves.”
Even if Piedmontese believe that six is the best place to get a recreational marijuana license in TC, the city technically allows 24 adult-use dispensaries. are. Could new licenses be issued as the local market declines?
“The ordinance states that city staff can reopen the application window,” Marente said. “At this time, we have not been given any consideration or been approached about seriously considering opening a new application window for retail licenses.”
Photo courtesy of Danglas.
