Business is booming, according to Marjorie Gray. The owner of Your CBD Store Fontana in California said the community has rallied around her business after a tough initial couple of months at the start of the pandemic.
She recently spoke with rolling out about her journey in the CBD world and how business has been leading up to April 20, 2022.
When did you open and how has the support been from the community?
We opened on Jan. 1, 2020, months before the pandemic hit. It was OK, we stayed open through the whole pandemic, but right before that the two months that we were in business, we were doing great. We were so excited. And then the pandemic came. Then it went to almost zero because everyone was quarantined at home, but now, it’s starting to pick up all of 2021 and now 2022 is looking up for us. I’m really excited. I’m looking to open a second store.
How has the Black community gotten behind you?
Funny, you should say that, but a lot of non-Black customers have been supporting us. I mean, a lot. I would say maybe it’s a 50-50 thing. They’ll come in and they’re so happy to see that it’s Black-owned and they’re not even Black. … So yeah, it’s been awesome. CBD is one of the big raves right now and it really works, our product really works.
A BLACK OWNED CBD STORE IN FONTANA, CA.
AMAZING OWNERS. TONS OF FREE SAMPLES & DISCOUNTS. THEY GAVE MY MOM FREE SANDALS LOL.
They’re fun, humble, and honest. They’re having a BBQ this Saturday 11am-3pm.
Foothill & palmetto in the Viva Villa parking lot. SUPPORT SMALL BUSINESS pic.twitter.com/Zwl3cNaGz7— Logan Cramer (@LoganCramer3) June 23, 2020
Why is CBD important?
The importance is just for your overall well-being. I’m going to be 62 and it’s helped me so much. I feel like I’m in my 30s, and it’s given me the energy I need, just the well-being I need, I feel like I’ve got a tune-up. Seriously, it’s amazing. I love it.
A few outlets including The Guardian and NBC News in the past two years have reported on the lack of Black-owned cannabis companies. Why do you think more Black people don’t enter this industry?
The stigma. When you try, as a Black person, to go and rent a property to open a CBD store, they immediately think that it’s going to be a dispensary. You’ve got to be legal, there are a lot of pop-up dispensaries all over, and I think that’s what they think it’s going to be. So I think that’s the main reason they don’t do it.
What are you doing for 4/20?
We sent out text messages, we’re giving 20% off on 4/20 for the entire store. We’re having a big sale.
How has the customer traffic been leading up to 4/20?
I think we had a couple of big days the past couple days. [It] has really been great. I think they are getting the hang of it, and they’re getting our texts.
