Last June, the folks behind the long-running Beer Dabbler event series opened Dabbler Depot, a full-service liquor store/coffee shop/café in St. Paul. (We're fans.) The shop stocked an impressive and curated collection of beer, wine, and liquor—lots of it Minnesota-made—and boasted a food truck and patio seating (and a giant donut statue) in addition to the coffee shop.
There was a lot going on! And things had only just gotten up and running on West Seventh when we got the surprising news: Low-dose THC edibles were legal in Minnesota. "We were excited about the donuts, we were excited about the coffee—we didn't realize there was gonna be this huge announcement in July," laughs Lance Asher, director of business development and partnerships.
Dabbler Depot's attached coffee shop quickly started stocking THC drinks and gummies, making their flagship store a real one-stop shop for state-approved uppers and downers. Simultaneously, the DD team started looking for additional retail spaces.
One appeared earlier this year, when Asher noticed a building for lease as he left his chiropractor's office on 28th Avenue in south Minneapolis. His crew signed the paperwork the next day, got the store ready to go in under two weeks... and then waited with some point-of-sale system issues related to the sale of cannabis. Dabbler Depot THC's first standalone location officially opened in mid-February, three weeks after Asher spotted the space. Then, earlier this month, Dabbler Depot opened another THC-focused Minneapolis location, this one slightly larger than the first, at 2817 Hennepin Ave. in Uptown.
Asher attributes that speedy growth to the connections they've made in the industry since Beer Dabbler launched in 2008; the brand has strong relationships with local (and national) breweries, which let them get product on shelves fast. And despite an ever-shifting regulatory landscape, local breweries are quite eager to create and move THC products, as explored in-depth in our industry "green rush" piece from last year.
The three shops are stocking an absolutely huge array of THC gummies and beverages, with roughly 100 different drinks from dozens of local and national brands. Zenn Piña Colada and Blueberry Lemonade seltzer, Insight's Flavor Pixels in pineapple or lemon lime, several flavors of Wooden Ship's Abyss fruited seltzers, something called Bong Water—they're all here, under one roof.
"I would argue that we have more variety in beverage than any THC [retailer] in the Midwest," Asher says. "That's the claim that I'm willing to make."
Dabbler Depot has always taken a "liquid to lips" approach, and its THC shops, Asher jokes, are "gummy to tummy." He's personally tested every beverage and edible that they stock—not a bad gig if you can get it—which means he and the DD staff can almost certainly help you find an edible/drinkable THC product to help you sleep, or manage pain, or just have a nice, leisurely Saturday afternoon.
If you're looking for a reason to drop in, they'll have tastings at all three Dabbler Depot THC locations on 4/20 from 12-8 p.m. We hear there's also a pretty cool contest in the works... is it as cool as Racket's 4/20 contest? Who can say.
