Cookies, a popular California-based marijuana company, will open its first Florida outlet in Orlando, according to a press release and construction intel.
It will be located in a former I-Hop, about a mile west of I-4 on Lee Road. A renovation and construction project is under way. It is expected to open in late 2021 or early 2022.
Cookies began with two visionary founders: grow-expert Jai and rapper-entrepreneur Berner (Gilbert Milam), whose Girl Scout Cookies (GSC) remains one of the most sought-after cannabis strains in the world.
From the earliest days in a San Francisco garage to global growth, our goal has remained the same: authenticity and innovative genetics, according to the company’s website. Our control of the entire experience from start to finish, seed to sale, sets us apart. “We take pride in our in-house cultivation, global varieties, and full lineup of strain-specific products. Cookies is a lifestyle.”
Cookies acquired one of Florida’s 22 medical marijuana treatment center licenses in 2020, according to the state’s Office of Medical Marijuana Use.
The Miami Herald reported the company bought the license from Tree King-Tree Farm Inc., a company based in Port Richey. Tree-King Farm, which acquired its license in 2019, never dispensed medical marijuana.
The company also sells apparel. Cookies Los Angeles is home for the Cookies Clothing and accessory brand as the company “continues to bridge the gap between streetwear, urban lifestyle, marijuana, hip-hop music and a multi-cultural society.”
The company, which includes Cookies and Lemonnade stores, has on its website 42 locations, including one in Puerto Rico and one in Tel Aviv.
In a recent interview with Forbes Magazine, Berner said he owns a majority share of Cookies and has no plans to take the company public.
He said the strategy used to expand the business was finding the right class of operators for the storefronts and partnering with them.
“We spent money but not what other companies have had to spend. My relationship with my investors is very pure. They respect the vision. I still have full control of the company,” he said.
