Photos: Marie Janes Cannabis Connection
Will a new pot and pizza delivery concept become all the buzz in legal weed retailing?
Marie Janes Cannabis Connection, located in Corvallis, OR, announced yesterday that it plans to give “new meaning to the term pizza joint” after it became the first marijuana dispensary in the U.S. to add in-house pizza to its cannabis delivery and pickup menu.
“My number-one priority is to supply all the ingredients customers need to make memorable moments, even if the memories of those moments are a little fuzzy,” said Marie Janes owner, Christina Jancila. “Good pizza is nice, but not memorable. Our goal was to come out of the gate offering the best pizza in town.”
Marie Janes brought in executive chef, Ed Barbeau, owner of Pisano’s Wood Fired Pizza, rated the best pizza in Oregon by USA Today in 2019, to develop the recipes. Chef Barbeau, who began making pizza in Naples, Italy, is a four-time West Coast champion at the International Pizza Challenge.
The menu for the 14-inch pizzas includes a wide variety of topping ingredients, ranging from the basic Acapulco Gold cheese pie to Marie Janes Effing Favorite made with white alfredo sauce, mushroom, chicken, pesto and mozzarella for $20.49. None of the pies contain cannabis as an ingredient. Delivery is $7 for orders under $30 and free on those at or over $30.
Sales of adult-use cannabis have recently fallen in California, Colorado and Washington after initially spiking with the outbreak of the novel coronavirus, according to point-of-sale data from Headset. The drop has been most pronounced in Colorado, Marijuana Business Daily reports, as a result of fewer people visiting the state for spring break activities this year.
Anna Shreeve, managing partner of The Bakeréé, told Marijuana Business Daily that traffic to the company’s two retail stores in Seattle is down.
“People are attempting to stock up for two weeks at a time, but it’s difficult because of the limits on cannabis,” she said.
Most states around the country that permit marijuana consumption for medical purposes have designated dispensaries as “essential” retail businesses, allowing them to remain open during the coronavirus outbreak. This remains true even in New York and New Jersey, the two states with the most coronavirus cases in the nation at present.
- Marie Jane’s Cannabis Connection
- Pizza Menu – Marie Jane’s Cannabis Connection
- Marie Jane’s Cannabis Connection Becomes First Marijuana Dispensary in the U.S. to Add In-House Pizza to a Pot Delivery Menu – Marie Jane’s Cannabis Connection/PRWeb
- Recreational cannabis sales in three key markets still falling after initial coronavirus-related spike – Marijuana Business Daily
- States that have allowed marijuana businesses to remain open during coronavirus pandemic stay-at-home orders – Marijuana Business Daily
Discussion Questions
DISCUSSION QUESTIONS: Do you expect cannabis/food combo stores to become commonplace in states where recreational marijuana is legal? Will the coronavirus outbreak lead to more states passing laws to allow delivery of cannabis, particularly medical marijuana products?
Poll
BrainTrust
Dr. Stephen Needel
Managing Partner, Advanced Simulations
Dave Bruno
Director, Retail Market Insights, Aptos
One of the big pushes here in my state during this stay-at-home mandate is the increased advertising of CBD products, so if that is the case those states with legalized pot are also advertising and being creative to keep sales coming in and the addition of food creates additional attachment purchases. Not a big stretch really.
Where was this when I was in college?
Find a need and fill it, right? This is actually kind of brilliant. I love that Marie Janes brought in a top pizza chef to create quality pies, this shows the retailer’s level of commitment. I see this concept taking off wherever it is legal.
Duuuude….this idea is off the chain! Marijuana and the munchies? I mean, seriously, why hasn’t anyone thought of this before now? As long as they can offer safe pickup/delivery options in the more tightly restricted cannabis retail market, I see this idea being fully baked.
Fabulous response.
To be clear, I have only heard about the munchies thing… ;^)
I thought for a moment that cannabis was one of the toppings :). Then got disappointed that it was merely a cross-sell play.
I am not sure it would be meaningfully relevant. Pizza need to be known for its quality by itself. No one is buying pizza because of good cannabis quality or vice-versa. In this case, given the famed chef, the pizza will probably sell.
This is a smart idea and one, in a number of variations, that will likely catch on. Like it or not, cannabis consumption is becoming more normalized and more consumers are engaging with the product. What’s most interesting is that local and independent firms have a real advantage as the patchwork of state laws makes it challenging for big national firms to create cohesive propositions. The illegality at the federal level also deters many large corporations from getting involved in the cannabis space.
Love it. Great example of innovation in the midst of a crisis…
Tricky question. Word on the street, both medicinally and recreationally, is that no one wants to put stress on their lungs — so the focus is much more on edibles.
We have delivery in Florida and I think most states with medical (which comes before recreational anyway) have the same.
The better play at this time would be marijuana-infused pizza. Two for the price of one.
Sounds like a great joint venture. (Sometimes I just can’t help myself.)
Pizza and pot delivery makes a lot of sense. We have seen hybrid retail trending in recent years. Mashing together two categories creates unique value and POV that consumers can connect to. One of my favorites is Baby’s On Fire in Baltimore. It’s a combo of a vinyl record store and coffee shop. It’s run by a husband and wife team who each have solid music backgrounds.
Successful hybrid retail comes from the founder’s passion for one or both of the categories.
I believe this meets the definition of a “virtuous circle.” just saying.
Seriously, the whole world is going to **** and we’re discussing THIS? OK rant over: no I don’t think this will be the new trend. On the contrary, I think we’ll see a backlash against the whole “legal pot” movement as the shortcomings become more apparent.
When I first read this, I was thinking April Fools but wait, it’s April 3rd! Great concept. I’m surprised none thought of it before now. For my 2 cents.