Coffee chain Second Cup Ltd. (T.SCU) announced on Thursday that it is planning to convert several of its shops in Ontario into cannabis dispensaries.
After recent policy changes in the province, Second Cup is partnering with National Access Cannabis Corp. (V.META) to develop and operate the network of NAC-banded retail stores, which are expected to branch out across the country under the brand Meta Cannabis Supply Co.
The provincial Ontario government recently announced that private retailers could sell recreational cannabis as of April 2019.
Back in April 2018 when the joint partnership was announced, the plan was for NAC to apply for licenses to dispense cannabis and then work with Second Cup to leverage its extensive retail footprint. The intent will be to turn these shops into “cannabis cafés”.
This could be a big boost for NAC, which has nine locations across Canada, including Victoria, Saskatoon, Winnipeg, Toronto, Ottawa, Halifax and three in Calgary. Second Cup currently has 286 coffee shops nationally (130 of those in Ontario). As Second Cup reviews its locations for potential retrofitting, NAC plans to open 50 to 70 locations in British Columbia, Alberta and Manitoba later this year. META stock made a sharp jump after the news.
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The announcement was also a nice jolt for SCU shares Thursday morning.
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