Las Vegas-based cannabis dispensary Planet 13 announces new Port Orange location

Brenno Carillo, The Daytona Beach News-Journal
·3 min read
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Planet 13's Santa Ana location in California.
Planet 13's Santa Ana location in California.

PORT ORANGE — Planet 13, a multi-state cannabis company, announced Tuesday that Port Orange will be the fourth location of its planned Florida dispensary network expansion.

The three other locations planned in Florida are Jacksonville, Tampa and Ocala.

"We are moving along at a steady pace in bringing our vision to fruition in Florida," said Larry Scheffler, co-CEO of Planet 13, in a press release. "We are balancing the competing priorities of opening as soon as possible with the need to do it in a cost-effective manner that reduces cash outlay and creates a long-term competitive position. We are eager to start serving the patients of Port Orange and showing why the Planet 13 name and products command such a strong reputation."

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The company cultivates and produces its own cannabis to make their products and has two superstore operations — one in Las Vegas and another in Santa Ana, California.

Planet 13’s West Coast locations are more than just cannabis dispensaries. The Las Vegas location, 112,000 square feet in size, features a bar and restaurant, a gift shop, and even a viewing area for customers to watch as products are made.

Customers at Planet 13's Las Vegas superstore location, which features a bar and restaurant, a gift shop, and even a viewing area for customers to watch as products are made.
Customers at Planet 13's Las Vegas superstore location, which features a bar and restaurant, a gift shop, and even a viewing area for customers to watch as products are made.

David Farris, Planet 13’s vice president of sales and marketing, said in an interview that since the company’s inception seven years ago as a small Las Vegas dispensary called Medizin (still in operation), they always wanted to “expand and develop a destination.”

“We have all these different immersive experiences, and it’s really a destination,” Farris said.

Focus on product and neighborhood concept

The Port Orange location, however, won’t follow the superstore model of Planet 13’s West Coast locations.

“What we’re trying to focus on is creating, from start to finish, incredible products,” Farris said. “We honestly feel that in the Florida market there is a ton of opportunity to execute not only our retail side, where people know us for, but really on the product side.”

Unlike Nevada and California, Florida law prohibits recreational use of marijuana.

Farris said that despite Planet 13’s destination concept, the company is still “medical-minded in how we approach the customer.”

“We are used to operating in a medical-only market. We’ve done it and that’s where we started, we’re familiar with it,” Farris said. “In our store in Las Vegas, for instance, we have people who come in and they want to get in and out in five minutes — they know exactly what they want. And then we have people who want to spend an hour and ask a ton of questions.”

David Farris, vice president for sales and marketing for Planet 13. Farris said that since the company’s inception seven years ago as a small dispensary store called Medizin in Las Vegas, they always wanted to “expand and develop a destination.”
David Farris, vice president for sales and marketing for Planet 13. Farris said that since the company’s inception seven years ago as a small dispensary store called Medizin in Las Vegas, they always wanted to “expand and develop a destination.”

Farris said even though state regulations mean that the operation in Florida might look a bit different from other locations, they are confident that the business can be successful.

“We’re very confident,” Farris said. “We have a competitive advantage in terms of our attention to detail, how passionate we are about our business. We have already been contacted by patients from Florida who visited our locations who are so excited we’re coming.”

He said that the company is also trying to expand its superstore model, but the future Port Orange location will be smaller and more “localized” in order to “fit in with the fabric of the community.”

“We like the neighborhood concept for Florida and that is initially our plan,” Farris added.

The Port Orange location will be “adjacent to a prominent shopping area and is just 3 miles west of the beach and 8 miles south of the iconic Daytona International Speedway,” according to the press release. Farris said the company is not sharing the exact location in Port Orange at this time.

The locations are still in the planning phase and there is still no estimate on when the store will open to the public.

“We’re really excited and I think it will be a great opportunity for us,” Farris said.

This article originally appeared on The Daytona Beach News-Journal: Planet 13 cannabis dispensary announces new Port Orange location