Michigan-Based Marijuana Chain to Buy Euflora Dispensaries

Euflora, one of Colorado's first recreational dispensary chains, will be acquired by multi-state marijuana retailer JARS Cannabis, a privately held company based in Michigan.

The pending deal, announced on November 7, includes six Euflora stores and a 7,200-square-foot cultivation facility in Colorado. The purchase price and terms of the takeover were not disclosed; the acquisition is expected to be completed before the end of the year pending regulatory approval, according to JARS.

In a statement announcing the deal, Euflora co-owner and chief operations officer Scott Rybicki hints at continued roles for some Euflora employees.

“We are pleased to join forces with JARS Cannabis to pursue a shared vision for the future of cannabis retail through sustainable expansion in core recreational markets,” he says. “Today marks a transformative moment in the evolution of Euflora, and we anticipate this acquisition will drive significant leadership, operational, and retail opportunities amongst both parties to better meet the varying needs of our combined staff and loyal customer base.”

Euflora was founded as a lone store on Denver's 16th Street Mall in 2014, the year that recreational sales began in Colorado. One of the first dispensaries to venture away from marketing focused on marijuana's medical benefits, Euflora pursued only recreational sales. Instead of keeping the majority of products under or behind a counter with a budtender serving as the handler, as most dispensaries still do, Euflora presented products throughout stores under individual glass display cases, with purchases made on electronic tablets.

That may seem standard for big-city pot shops now, but Euflora was early to chase the moniker of "the Apple store of weed." By 2017, it had added two locations in Aurora and one on Brighton Boulevard in north Denver (originally the 3D Cannabis store, where the country's first legal recreational marijuana sale took place), as well as outposts in Aspen and Longmont. Euflora also owned a dispensary in Long Beach, California, but that store is no longer open.

Upon closing the Euflora acquisition, JARS will have 26 dispensaries across three states, with stores in Arizona and Michgan as well as Colorado.

“In this evolving industry, the move to acquire Euflora demonstrates a strategic opportunity for JARS to service new customers as we continue to expand our retail footprint across the nation, while aiming to create new jobs and increase access to affordable and accessible recreational cannabis products for all,” says JARS chief operations officer Raymond Abro in a statement.

Euflora ownership also operates a retail marijuana delivery service in Colorado, Flyhi, and has served as the main sponsor and organizer of Denver's annual 4/20 festival since 2018. Neither Flyhi nor the annual 4/20 festival was mentioned in the acquisition announcement, however.