CHAMBER NEWS RELEASE

The Los Alamos Chamber of Commerce is celebrating the opening of Los Alamos’ first retail cannabis store, Wheeed LLC, with a ribbon cutting on Wednesday, April 20 at 4:20 p.m. Wheeed is located at 555 Oppenheimer, Suite 101A.

Wheeed will sell cannabis and related merchandise, such as locally sourced glass pipes, locally designed merchandise. The business will be open Tuesday-Friday, 7 a.m. – 7 p.m., and 10 a.m. – 4:20 p,m. Saturday and Sunday.

The Cannabis Regulation Act, passed by the Legislature and signed by the governor last year, called for sales of adult-use cannabis to begin April 1. The new industry is projected to generate over $300 million annually in sales, create more than 11,000 jobs and bring in $50 million in state revenue in the first year alone.

Wheeed LLC is a Los Alamos company, founded by owner/operators Jonathan LeDuc and Eric Laskie, both Los Alamos natives. Wheeed participated in the Los Alamos Retail Accelerator program, a new community business development initiative to encourage local entrepreneurs to start new retail establishments in the County and simultaneously fill some vacant storefronts.

The Los Alamos Retail Accelerator is organized and run by Los Alamos MainStreet and the Chamber of Commerce. The goal is to inspire and equip new entrepreneurs with the confidence to take the plunge into starting a business with minimal upfront risk, as the program subsidizes their costs to do a retail viability test in the market. Last year the program had 14 applicants and 11 of these entrepreneurs completed the 7-week Phase 1 training workshops. Four businesses went on to participate in the Phase 2 pop-up store trial. Two entrepreneurs have since purchased their own spaces, one is partnering with another business, and Wheeed is renting their space, which is the same space they occupied for their Retail Accelerator pop-up shop.

After a successful first year, the Retail Accelerator program is in the planning phase to take place again in 2022, with applications being accepted over the summer and coursework beginning in September. Look for more information soon.

Ribbon cuttings are a benefit of being a Los Alamos Chamber Member. For more information about Chamber membership, please visit losalamoschamber.com or call Ryn Herrmann at (505) 661-4807.

The Los Alamos Chamber of Commerce is a program of Los Alamos Commerce & Development Corporation; a private, not-for-profit economic and community development organization serving the Los Alamos area since 1983. LACDC serves as the umbrella organization for the Los Alamos Chamber of Commerce, Los Alamos MainStreet, Discover Los Alamos, Los Alamos Small Business Center, projectY cowork, Los Alamos and the Los Alamos Research Park and the New Mexico Lab-Embedded Entrepreneur Program (NM LEEP).