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have a heart coalinga

Have a Heart, the Valley's second recreational pot dispensary, will host a grand opening in Coalinga on Saturday. Screenshot via YouTube

published on October 11, 2018 - 1:50 PM
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The Central Valley’s second cannabis dispensary will be hosting a grand opening Saturday in the Fresno County town of Coalinga.

The store will be Seattle-based Have a Heart’s first in California, and will create 23 new union jobs, based on a partnership with the United Food and Commercial Workers Union.

Located at 286 N. 5th St., Have a Heart sells “top shelf” cannabis in smokable flower form, as well as edibles, concentrates, topicals and an assortment of medical products available to adults 21 and over.

The grand opening festivities Saturday will begin at 10 a.m. with events and promotions planned throughout the weekend. Coalinga’s police chief, acting fire chief and mayor will join Have a Heart’s CEO Ryan Kunkel and Ed Mitchell, chief operating officer, for the ribbon-cutting ceremony, according to a news release.

“At least Twenty-six different companies were vetted by the City of Coalinga to start some type of business, whether it be indoor medicinal cannabis cultivation, manufacturing, testing, or packaging, ” stated Coalinga Mayor Nathan Vosburg. “I believe this new industry will help those with a medical need and at the same time bring significant employment opportunities and economic growth to our region. I am pleased that Have a Heart, a company with a strong social conscience, is joining our community.”

Founded in 2011, Have a Heart began 2018 with five retail locations in Washington state. Last month, it closed on $25 million in series A private financing, the largest round of private financing for a U.S. retail cannabis company that is pure play, meaning a company that invests its resources in only one type of business.

Have a Heart now has more than 15 retail licenses across six states: Washington, Hawaii, Oregon, California, Iowa and Ohio. The company has more than 18 applications pending, including in five additional states. In addition, it has more than 20 sites under negotiation with potential merger partners in another four states.

Coalinga is one of the few municipalities in the Central Valley that have welcomed cannabis retail and manufacturing activities for the recreational market. The first recreational dispensary, Valley Pure, opened in May in the Tulare County town of Woodlake.

In its first quarter of operations, Valley Pure generated nearly $47,000 in tax revenues for the city, and its projected to bring in $20,000 worth of tax revenue monthly.

Another dispensary is set to open in Woodlake by March 2019.

In the Tulare County town of Farmersville, the city council just recently voted to allow recreational cannabis dispensaries in city limits, reported the Sun Gazette.


Related stories:

Fueled by grants, recreational pot, Woodlake comes into its own

Valley’s first recreational pot shop opens in Woodlake


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