Locations announced for 13 new legal weed stores in Toronto

Toronto is about to get a whole new batch of government-approved cannabis retail stores — 13, to be exact, on top of the city's existing five.

The Alcohol and Gaming Commission of Ontario (AGCO) just released the results of its second ever cannabis retail lottery, a highly-anticipated draw which took place yesterday.

A total of 42 hopeful business owners were chosen out of 4,874 applicants in Ontario this time around to apply for cannabis retail operator licenses and retail store authorization. 

The lucky 42 now have until August 28 to submit their documents (and a $50,000 letter of credit) for review, in hopes of getting the go-ahead from Ontario's government.

Should their owners meet all legal and regulatory requirements as set out by the AGCO, 13 new brick-and-mortar weed stores will open in the following Toronto locations:

• 570 Bloor St. W: A now vacant former Thai restaurant in the Annex, located right across the street from the forthcoming Mirvish Village development.
   
• 964 Kingston Rd.: Currently home to Randall's Stationery, this 3,500-square-foot store can be found just south of Danforth Village, near The Beaches.
   
• 104 Harbord St.: One of the notorious illegal weed dispensary chain CAFE's main locations. Currently fronted by giant concrete blocks installed by the city following multiple police raids and shut down orders.
   
• 619 King St. W.: Home of the lush, two-storey cocktail bar Goldie, at present.
   
• 2480-2490 Gerrard St. E., Unit 20: A unit within the same Scarborough strip mall as a Freshco, a Kumon tutoring centre, a McDonald's and a Tim Hortons. Interestingly, this location was proposed as an official OCS brick and mortar store while Kathleen Wynne was still in office.
   
• 1303 Queen St. E: A small white retail and residential building in Leslieville, once home to Simple Cafe.
   
• 1180 Queen St. W.: Located at the very western edge of West Queen West, this bar space next to Convenience was for many years home to The Midpoint.
   
• 213 Queen St. E.:This storefront near the corner of Sherbourne and Queen, directly across from Moss Park, is currently an antique store.
   
• 237 Queen St. W.: A low-rise commercial building on the Queen West Strip just east of University, literally steps away from Osgoode Station and right across the street from Toronto's first legal pot shop, Hunny Pot.
   
• 730 Danforth Ave. Suite 1: Current home to Riverdale's Greek Village Bar & Grill.
   
• 2464 Dufferin Street: A freestanding, longtime bicycle store (Adventure Cycle) just north of Eglinton.
   
• 501 Church St. Unit 4B: A smaller space within a multi-unit commercial property, formerly home to fetish shop Priape, right in the heart of Church & Wellesley.
   
• 815 Queen St. W: Yes, another one in Queen West — this one, proposed for where The Dog's Bollocks proudly stood for more than a decade. Looks that new sports bar won't be turning into a male strip club.

by Lauren O'Neil via blogTO