As the Observer went to press, a double billboard on I-94 still announced cryptically, “Cookies / Coming Soon.” By then, though, anyone hoping for a Mrs. Field’s competitor knew better: the previous weekend, Ann Arbor’s newest cannabis store held a grand opening celebration so frenzied that there was no place to park for blocks around the sky-blue storefront on W. Stadium.
Attractions included the El Mariachi food truck, a gaming table, and product giveaways, but the headliner was California rapper and Cookies CEO Berner. His giant tour bus, emblazoned with the logos of Cookies and sister-brand Lemonnade, was strategically positioned at the corner of Abbott, effectively becoming another billboard.
Marijuana’s gone corporate. Though Berner is Cookies’ public face, the store is operated by Gage Cannabis, itself a subsidiary of TerrAscend, a publicly traded company based in Mississauga, Ontario. The following week, Cookies celebrated another grand opening in Little Rock, and TerrAscend paid $28 million for five Michigan dispensaries operating under the Pinnacle brand. According to a press release, all now “will carry the entire family of Cookies and Gage branded products including, but not limited to the Cookies, Lemonnade, Runtz, Powerzzzup, Minntz, and Grandiflora lines.”
There’s a lot of merch, too. If you’re looking for a Cookies hoodie, a “734” T-shirt, or an “Everybody vs Injustice” beanie, they’ve got you covered.
Cookies Ann Arbor, 2460 W. Stadium. (734) 436–1551. Daily 9 a.m.–8:45 p.m. gagecannabis.com
