The cannabis stores voted the best-looking in Canada tended to have a unifying aesthetic: minimalist, sophisticated, and accessible, a counter argument to the worst stereotypes of outdated stoner culture.
Before edibles, beverages, and other cannabis 2.0 merch arrived on the shelves, these stores indulged in ample retail space to present clean environments with distinctive creative touches.
Canada’s favourite cannabis store design
Superette
1306 Wellington St. W., Ottawa
Photos by Jesse Milns
Superette’s bright and clean soda shop aesthetic is intended to defuse the debilitating abundance of choice present in many cannabis stores.
Instead, the Superette shopping experience is meant to be “as simple and fun as buying ice cream at the corner store,” with strains listed on a lightbox menu, shopping baskets colour-coded to signal if you’d like help (green) or not (red), and prerolls staged in cherry red baskets lined with red-checkered paper, like a basket of fries.
With an ’80s-style Pong table game and booths with plastic menus, the atmosphere is a spot-on homage to vintage diners, with a generous supply of (non-cannabis) flowers nodding to the greenery on-sale behind the counter.
More of Canada’s favourite cannabis store designs
Tokyo Smoke
Alberta, Manitoba, Ontario (12 stores)
Jesse Milns/Leafly
With its spartan design and strains organized into helpful, relatable categories (Rise “sparks creativity,” Go “ignites energy,” and Ease “provides comfort”), the 12-location chain is setting the tone for what cannabis retail can look like in Canada: clean, sophisticated, and accessible.
The Yonge St. flagship in Toronto showcases buds in white plastic and glass globes that look almost alien, and stocks slickly-designed accessories under glass on tables embellished with the signature Tokyo Smoke sphere.
The Hunny Pot
202 Queen St. W., Toronto
Jesse Milns/Leafly
With its gold accents and hexagon motif, the design of The Hunny Pot, the first cannabis store to open in Toronto, is a luxe take on the hive its name suggests.
Early observers compared this four-story complex to a fashion designer’s boutique. Its glass fixtures, natural light, and minimalistic design conjure visions of a well-edited atelier.
Village Bloomery
1540 W 2nd Ave., Vancouver
Bill Hawley/Leafly
Open since 2015, the Village Bloomery projects its good community vibes in even the subtle details, such as a daffodil yellow ukulele casually shelved behind the counter.
There are also hard-to-miss tips to the big-hearted dispensary’s community activist roots: cabinets blare the all-caps slogan “IT’S WHAT’S INSIDE THAT COUNTS.” The cool stone walls contrast with the warm wood fixtures for a stylish yet welcoming space.
Hobo Kelowna
4-2121 Springfield Rd., Kelowna
Photo courtesy of Hobo
Hobo Kelowna, the first legal cannabis store to open in Kelowna, BC, is filled with leafy green plants under long wooden tables, where flower of a more brain-tickling nature is on display.
A weathered fedora of the Indiana Jones variety is kept under glass, perhaps a nod to the wanderlust lifestyle suggested by the brand’s name.
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