Katelyn Baker
Well-Known Member
The grand opening of Miss Burns on Columbia River Highway marks the first entry for St. Helens in legal recreational marijuana sales.
John Alden and Larry Vandolah Jr. own Miss Burns. Vandolah is a St. Helens resident who was already in the process of opening the shop with a partner who is no longer involved. When the opportunity for a new partner arose, Alden, a friend of Vandolah, stepped away from an MBA program to join the business.
I have a B.A. in Business Administration," Alden said. "It meshed with my business skills, and it's a new industry with a lot of opportunity." Alden said getting the doors open has been a pioneering venture, requiring the aid of family and friends as well as a leap of faith.
Alden said opening the shop meant cutting through a lot of red tape to acquire permits and meet regulatory standards. He said with the evolving laws under constant revision, and the need to communicate rules from state to county to city, it can make the process a little frustrating, but he understands the need for scrutiny considering there are limited comparisons to study in the emerging field of marijuana business.
Hearing a lot of hope from others in the industry, Alden said marijuana business could already be seen stimulating the economy, whether it be through the local suppliers or locally-hired employees or those in ancillary businesses connected to the marijuana industry.
"They have a lot of hope, a lot of ideas in terms of new products, they're really exited about it," Alden said. "That's what this industry does — it lights a spark under people and it becomes a flame... that's what the whole country was built on and we need to get back to that, back to industry and production."
In the case of Miss Burns, 9 out of 11 employees are local residents, living in St. Helens or nearby towns. Alden said all of the glass products come from local blowers, the marijuana is grown locally, and they frequent local businesses for shop hardware.
"We are trying to give back to the community," Alden said. "This can really be the injection that St. Helens needs."
Alden said the shop pays a 25 percent tax on sales to the state, but also pays a 7 percent community impact fee to the City of St. Helens to operate their business. He added that there are almost no write-offs for a marijuana business — only the product is eligible — payroll, marketing and everything else is taxable. "Hopefully that is put back into the social safety network," Alden said. The business license for the operation was $2,500. Typically, the flat fee for the yearly license is $55, and each additional full time employee (or two part time employees) is $5 per person.
The state collects each month, and the city collects quarterly, according to Alden.
Oregon is appealing to marijuana businesses already, and Alden said big companies are eyeballing the area for grow operations and retail stores. He sees a future where high-quality Oregon marijuana is exported globally, a future where the region is known as the source of the finest marijuana in the industry. While there may be some external complications as things progress, Alden believes the business is here to stay.
News Moderator: Katelyn Baker 420 MAGAZINE ®
Full Article: Marijuana Sales Begin In St. Helens
Author: Cody Mann
Contact: (503) 397-0116
Photo Credit: None Found
Website: The Chronicle
John Alden and Larry Vandolah Jr. own Miss Burns. Vandolah is a St. Helens resident who was already in the process of opening the shop with a partner who is no longer involved. When the opportunity for a new partner arose, Alden, a friend of Vandolah, stepped away from an MBA program to join the business.
I have a B.A. in Business Administration," Alden said. "It meshed with my business skills, and it's a new industry with a lot of opportunity." Alden said getting the doors open has been a pioneering venture, requiring the aid of family and friends as well as a leap of faith.
Alden said opening the shop meant cutting through a lot of red tape to acquire permits and meet regulatory standards. He said with the evolving laws under constant revision, and the need to communicate rules from state to county to city, it can make the process a little frustrating, but he understands the need for scrutiny considering there are limited comparisons to study in the emerging field of marijuana business.
Hearing a lot of hope from others in the industry, Alden said marijuana business could already be seen stimulating the economy, whether it be through the local suppliers or locally-hired employees or those in ancillary businesses connected to the marijuana industry.
"They have a lot of hope, a lot of ideas in terms of new products, they're really exited about it," Alden said. "That's what this industry does — it lights a spark under people and it becomes a flame... that's what the whole country was built on and we need to get back to that, back to industry and production."
In the case of Miss Burns, 9 out of 11 employees are local residents, living in St. Helens or nearby towns. Alden said all of the glass products come from local blowers, the marijuana is grown locally, and they frequent local businesses for shop hardware.
"We are trying to give back to the community," Alden said. "This can really be the injection that St. Helens needs."
Alden said the shop pays a 25 percent tax on sales to the state, but also pays a 7 percent community impact fee to the City of St. Helens to operate their business. He added that there are almost no write-offs for a marijuana business — only the product is eligible — payroll, marketing and everything else is taxable. "Hopefully that is put back into the social safety network," Alden said. The business license for the operation was $2,500. Typically, the flat fee for the yearly license is $55, and each additional full time employee (or two part time employees) is $5 per person.
The state collects each month, and the city collects quarterly, according to Alden.
Oregon is appealing to marijuana businesses already, and Alden said big companies are eyeballing the area for grow operations and retail stores. He sees a future where high-quality Oregon marijuana is exported globally, a future where the region is known as the source of the finest marijuana in the industry. While there may be some external complications as things progress, Alden believes the business is here to stay.
News Moderator: Katelyn Baker 420 MAGAZINE ®
Full Article: Marijuana Sales Begin In St. Helens
Author: Cody Mann
Contact: (503) 397-0116
Photo Credit: None Found
Website: The Chronicle
