This marihuana store actually even looks like one
Calyx + Trichomes are one of the first cannabis retailers in Ontario.
Daniela EckertOctober 5, 2026
When you name your business Calyx + Trichomes Cannabis, you are making an implicit promise to your clientele that they actually know a thing or two about weeds. For long-time cannabis advocates and former old market operators Jennawae McLean and Lorenzo Cavion, it was a matter of course to bring authenticity into the four walls of their regulated shop. Unlike Kingston, Ontario's other marijuana retailers - both Spiritleaf and Fire & Flower are large franchises with huge capital - Calyx + Trichomes is family owned. It's this independence that sets it apart from other companies, says McLean. "I think it's a pretty big deal because we're very careful about everything we spend and what we do," she says. "We want everything to be perfect." McLean acknowledges that her expertise and years of community reputation play a role in setting her apart from the bulk of lottery winners, but emphasizes the difference when you risk it all. "It is our personal investment as is our life savings," she says. "Lorenzo and I work full-time in the store. That's all for us. We don't have six stores running - this is our baby." It's been a long road for McLean and Cavion, who operated in the gray area of the Canadian cannabis market for nearly a decade. Their previous business, 420 Kingston, was one of the largest seed banks in the country before it was raided in 2017. And while they celebrated when a year-long battle for a legal market finally became a reality, the duo faced two rounds of disappointment in Ontario's now-scrapped retail lottery. So when Calyx + Trichomes reopened as a licensed store on June 1st - after getting their final approval in April - they didn't shy away from sharing their enthusiasm. Your passion for the system and the industry behind it is tangible. This becomes even more apparent when you look at the way their store is decorated. Instead of pale white walls and exposed bricks, puffed-up images of frosty buds can be seen. And if you look carefully enough, you might find a commissioned masterpiece that depicts the political genesis of the provincial legal industry. While aromatherapy, jewelry or computers could easily be sold in the interiors of other cannabis retailers without the blink of an eye of a contemporary consumer-oriented eyeball, Calyx + Trichomes proudly displays its source material.
