Cannabis Dispensaries Are the New Lifestyle Boutiques
Table Of Content
Source: Bon Appétit
Category: Food
Originally Published: 2025-12-05
Curated: 2025-12-05 16:19
At first glance it’s easy to mistake the cream and persimmon aluminum awning that lines Pot+Pan’s shopfront in Portland, Maine’s Woodford Corner neighborhood, for a bakery. There’s a glowing sign outside that reads, “Freshly Baked,” and the front windows beckon in guests with a colorful assortment of cookware and kitchen tchotchkes from Instagram-darling brands like Great Jones, Ghia, and Nata Concept Store.
But as soon as you step inside, it becomes clear that the shelves full of retro-inspired bundt cakes, bonbons, chocolate bars, and gummies are a little…different. In fact, even if you just want to purchase a candle shaped like a pat of butter or a stack of cocktail napkins shaped like martini olives, you’ll need to show proof of age (21+) and can only pay via cash or debit card.
Welcome to the wild and wonderful world of lifestyle cannabis retail.
Since opening the store last summer, Pot+Pan’s executive chef, Tara Cannaday, has reinvented the role of Willy Wonka, leaning into the power of whimsy to speak to customers who might not otherwise feel welcome in a more traditional dispensary setting.
“We think that presentation matters, and that a space taken care of and filled with thoughtfully curated items and delicious treats provides a sense of comfort and nostalgia,” Cannaday says. “The aesthetic we’ve leaned into is on trend and in the companionship of other similar women-owned and operated businesses like Pop Up Grocer, and Big Night.”
Inclusivity by Design
As laws around cannabis retail evolve to make THC-infused products more accessible, dispensary retail, too, is entering a new era.
In many states, the sale of cannabis has moved (or is moving) from the streets to austere medical dispensaries with fluorescent lighting, as well as into storefronts vitrines full of brightly colored bongs and pipes, shelves of junk food snacks, and garish posters of cartoon characters lighting up a joint.
This article was curated from Bon Appétit. All rights belong to the original publisher.