First Place: Noble Herb

2023 Retail Renovation Competition

PROJECT SCOPE: Transform a high-profile space previously occupied by a Mexican restaurant into a distinctive cannabis dispensary experience. This required a thoughtful redo of the street presence, adapting the architecture with modern retail amenities and activating the brand inside and out. Specific steps included:

Eliminating/minimizing the heavy stucco and southwestern finishes on the façade and interior.
Gutting the entire space and structurally redesigning the building to open up the floor plan and gain ceiling height.
Re-engineering the storefront and point of entry to be captivating both from the outside looking in and the inside looking out.

GOALS AND OBJECTIVES: In anticipation of adult-use legalization in Arizona, the operator wanted to create a dispensary that could handle more people and transactions while fostering an intimate and inviting retail experience. The brand needed to stand apart from the competition and attract a mainstream consumer.

UNIQUE CHALLENGES: Cannabis regulations prohibit direct access to the product, which makes creating enticing functional displays difficult. The client overcame the challenge by investing in creating faux versions of the product that allow the product to be displayed in a compliant yet appealing way.

UNIQUE FEATURES: The store’s check-out process includes a custom queue-rail system integrated into the showroom layout that guides shoppers as they line up for the p-o-s cashiers. This offers customers opportunities to browse while waiting. Employees on the backside of a custom pass-through wall can stock the inventory in the fulfillment drawers, while the cashiers and budtenders on the customer side can pull from and fulfill the orders themselves.